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Photo by JasonDGreat Will Argentine ants take over the Formicidae world? It sounds possible. I was reminded of the lyrics of a children’s counting song, The ants go marching one by one ...  as I read an item in the December 2009 National Geographic about Argentine ants. They are gaining dominance around the world by their ability to get along well with one another. They are forming genetically consistent “super colonies” that enable an ant from one nest to mingle freely in another, preventing competition among queens and internest wars. Apparently this proclivity for peace allows them to solidly expand their territory, crowding out native ant species and interfering with local ecologies. I'll leave it to you to read more about this peril. How strange , I thought as I read this. If ants can dominate by peaceful behavior, could humans do the same? If people with a peaceful mindset link up and live from a center of love, peace and gratitude, will we eventually overwhelm and cr...

“Inspiration happens, but it has to catch you working,” advises Gina Mazza, creative alchemist extraordinaire, as she discusses the process of writing in the audio interview posted below. Gina is the author of Everything Matters Nothing Matters , an eloquent blend of riveting spiritual memoir with a well-defined path readers can follow as they pursue their own spiritual journeys. Her book is one of a large number of multi-niche memoirs that appear on the shelves of the travel section, spiritual life, healing, recovery ... even the food section of bookstores and libraries. The combination of personal experience and message is powerful, giving readers deeper understanding of a process I discuss in an article, What is a Self-Help Memoir . During our interview Gina explains how her book evolved into a published volume from a concept she blurted to an agent during a pitch for another book. In keeping with her dual-track book, she also gives listeners some general guidelines on creativity th...

A few days ago my daughter told me about accepting a “Thankfulness Challenge.” She’s posting tiny “I’m thankful for ...” statements on Facebook at least once a day. After she told me this, I took a look. The instructions are simple: Every day this month until Thanksgiving, think of one thing that you are thankful for and post it as your status. "Today I am thankful for..." The longer you do it, the harder it gets! Now if you think you can do it then repost this message ......as your status to invite others to take...the challenge, then post what YOU are thankful for today.... Then I checked her posts. They are tiny indeed. Typical ones include: Today I am thankful for deodorant. Today I am thankful for sarcasm. Today I am thankful that others have louder voices than mine. Today I am thankful for ear plugs ... helpful when the children are fighting over toys. Today, I am thankful that my husband did not die on mile 24 of his marathon -- no matter how much he thought he was goi...

There’s nothing like a party to bring out people’s best stories, especially when stories are the reason for the party. On November 10, members of the Monroeville Library Life Writers celebrated National Life Writing Month with a Festival of Lifestories . Ten experienced members selected one story each from their growing collections and read it to a room packed with family members and friends at the Monroeville Library , our generous host. As group facilitator, I served as Emcee for the event, introducing a full spectrum of stories. Story topics ranged from a matched pair of stories about “How We Met” through travel stories, war stories, grieving stories, and high school memories to straight humor. Everyone had a great time, whether they read stories or listened. It was a powerful illustration of the variety of stories that emerge from such a group, and several in the audience expressed interest in learning more about writing life stories. The event also provided a great way for this cl...

Photo by  Polina Sergeeva   Has a pain complex developed around our favored genre of memoir? Someone recently observed that to be interesting a memoir has to be about pain and suffering. Perhaps I exaggerate the intent of that remark, but as I think about it, I’ve been hearing variations on that theme in a number of places lately. For example, “People are interested in reading about struggle and how you overcame obstacles.” “My life is so ordinary. Nobody would want to read about it.” “Conflict. That’s what sells.” Maybe that last statement is the crux of the matter. “What sells.” Or more precisely, what publishers are buying in hopes that we also will. Scanning down the current Amazon “best-selling memoir list” search, I see titles like Chronicles, Volume 1 , by Bob Dylan, Realding Lolita in Tehran , by Azar Nafisi, Dreams from My Father , by Barack Obama, Night , by Elie Wiesel, It Stops with Me , by Charleen Touchette, and An Unquiet Mind , by Kay Redfield Jamison. None of these b...

Many memoir authors take ages to write their book. Jeannette Walls took about five years to write The Glass Castle . Other outstanding memoirs that have not made it to the best-seller list — yet — are Linda Joy Myers’ Don’t Call Me Mother , Karen Walker's Following the Whispers ,  and Heather Cariou’s  Sixtyfive Roses . Each of those books reportedly took about twenty years to write. So how did Sarah Palin manage to crank out Going Rogue (which topped the best-seller list weeks before its release) in only four months? Answer: she had help, and she is Sarah Palin. I have not checked for details, but it seems safe to assume that agents and publishers were pestering her with offers months before she committed to writing the book. Another huge advantage she had was a compelling reason to write. For better or worse, whatever personal motivation she may have had, the over-arching importance of this book will be its role as a political platform document, and Sarah is obviously committe...