When Angela and Jodi first approached me to host Sue Silverman on her book tour I saw the word, “Memoir” and thought, “I don’t write Memoir and I don’t ever plan to.” But, Sue is a writer and “Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir” is not a book about memoir, it’s a book about writing.

Sue is incredible. After our initial contact she got a copy of her book into the post for me and it arrived within days. That was over two months ago, and while at the time I promised to move “Fearless Confessions” to the top of my reading list, I put it off, and off. Some deep, secret reserve held me back from opening the covers. Fear and perhaps an inner knowing kept the book at arms length. I would glance at the cover, feeling guilty because I knew that I would be reviewing the book this month and I really needed to have read it to do that.

Fear comes at us in all areas of writing, be it memoir or fiction, because, ultimately, with each word we write we tell the story of ourselves. I’ve struggled with my current novel because I know that there are elements of myself in each of my characters and I don’t know them. I don’t know myself enough to know these characters. Knowing that in finishing this novel I will have to truly learn who I am creates gargantuan writer’s blocks built of fear.

Perhaps, that is why “Fearless Confessions” found its way to me. I opened the pages and began to read and I could see myself in Sue’s words. I knew, from the first page, that this book would force me to look at my own situation, and, if I could muster Sue’s courage, it would force me to explore who I am. In turn, perhaps it would allow me to finish my novel.

Toward the end of each chapter, Sue William Silverman asks us to participate. It is not enough to be actively engaged in her voice and the heart she shares on her pages. Sue pushes her readers to take action, to begin now, to grasp courage and move forward. In book form it is tempting to skip over these writing exercises. It takes courage to commit to the exercises just as it takes courage to begin reading. But in claiming that courage with each exercise, it becomes easier to do the next.

Although there is a definite slant toward memoir writing through the book, “Fearless Confessions” is about all writing, particularly fiction writing. The techniques Sue shares are cornerstones in all excellent writing. Learning these skills and developing the craft of storytelling will improve your writing in every aspect of your life.

When we are first learning to read and write we are taught to distinguish facts, “An apple is red.”. As we grow older we’re told to expand on this, “An apple is red and round.”. As we discover writing as an art we learn that there is far more to every aspect of our lives then the simple facts. “Red” and “round” are no longer descriptive enough to truly convey what an apple is.

Sue Silverman’s “Fearless Confessions” asks us to look deeper. To see with adult eyes the complexity of life and express that complexity, in full, rich, evocative color, on the page. She asks us to discover ourselves in our writing and in turn, discover our writing within ourselves.

If you’ve ever wondered how to develop your writer’s voice, how to put emotion on the page, how to tell a story that readers live and won’t want to put aside, then you need to discover your own “Fearless Confessions“.

Now, it’s time to return to my own story.

Please, don’t forget that Sue will be visiting Writer’s Round-About on the 21st of August and you still have a few days to ask your questions and enter the draw to receive your very own copy of “Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir“.