Naked, Drunk, and Writing: Shed Your Inhibitions and Craft a Compelling Memoir or Personal Essay

The material is right there in front of you. You’ve known yourself for, well, a lifetime—and you finally feel ready to share your story with the world. Yet when it actually comes time to put pen to paper, you find that you’re stumped.

 

Enter Adair Lara: award-winning author, seasoned columnist, beloved writing coach, and the answer to all of your autobiographical quandaries. 

Naked, Drunk, and Writing is the culmination of Lara’s vast experience as a writer, editor, and teacher. It is packed with insights and advice both practical (“writing workshops you pay for are the best--it’s too easy to quit when you’ve made no investment”) and irreverent (“apply Part A [butt] to Part B [chair]”), answering such important questions as:

 

• How do I know where to start my piece and where to end it?

• How do I make myself write when I’m too scared or lazy or busy?

• What makes a good pitch letter, and how do I get mine noticed?

• I’m ready to publish—now where do I find an agent?

• If I show my manuscript to my mother, will I ever be invited to a family gathering again?

As thorough and instructive as a personal writing coach (and cheaper, too), Naked, Drunk, and Writing is a must-have if you are an aspiring columnist, essayist, or memoirist—or just a writer who needs a bit of help in getting your story told.

A personable and funny book on how to write about your life in essay and memoir, by Adair Lara, whom Anne Lamott (Bird by Bird) calls San Francisco's legendary writer and teacher

Originally published: San Francisco: Scottwall Associates, 2009, under title Naked, drunk, and writing: writing essays and memoirs for love and for money.

An instructive, inspiring, and refreshingly irreverent guide that shows aspiring writers how to cast off self-doubt and concoct a stellar memoir.

The award-winning author of an autobiographical newspaper column, Adair Lara has written more than ten books, including the memoir Hold Me Close, Let Me Go. Packed with insight and humor, Naked, Drunk, and Writing is the culmination of her extensive experience as a writer, editor, and teacher. She coaches readers through all of the stages of memoir writing using interactive exercises, illuminating examples, and anecdotes. Writers learn how to take small, manageable steps to break out of their shells and transform themselves into skilled storytellers.

ADAIR LARA wrote a twice-weekly column for the San Francisco Chronicle for twelve years, taught in the MFA program at Mills College, and won the Associated Press Award for Best Columnist in California. She leads sold-out writing workshops in San Francisco, CA.

“Very savvy and smart and hugely entertaining.”

--ANNE LAMOTT, author of Bird by Bird