After reading about Sue Silverman and her book, “Fearless Confessions – A Writer’s Guide to Memoir” on Writer’s Roundabout I was keen to get a copy. It wasn’t long afterwards that a copy was sent to me after winning a contest on WRA.

Once started, I couldn’t put the book down; I was learning so much from it. I’m a budding writer, unpublished. This book is going to help my first book change from ordinary to wow.

Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s a tough business; the ‘wow’ above is for me personally, I want to feel that ‘wow factor’ for myself.

My father wrote his memoirs, it was directed at his friends and family who knew him well. He wrote the way many would “this is my life and how it happened.” I didn’t want that but hadn’t the first idea how to turn it into something with more punch. Sue Silverman’s book did just that!

I learned so much while reading this book, I believe the most important lesson is where to start, how to create what Sue calls the it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night effect and catch the reader’s attention immediately.

I also liked how she reminds us to reveal our scenes rather than state them; using the senses to hold the reader in that moment with you so they can almost taste, smell, see, feel, and hear everything going on.

Losing unnecessary words and tightening up sentences is extremely important, especially for me as I can float away a little. Another useful lessons was the vital use of metaphors to engage the reader, to bring them on your ‘ride’.

Overall, I really loved the book and Sue’s style of writing. This book isn’t a ‘how-to’, it’s a guide with important information for budding writers like myself or those who need a refresher.

Thanks to this book, my book won’t be a “this is my life and this is how it happened” styled memoir, instead it will invite readers to “ride this roller coaster with me” and I thank Sue Silverman’s Fearless Confessions for introducing me to the new direction.