Curious Minds Podcast S2: When Life is Stranger Than Fiction

Curious Minds Podcast S2: When Life is Stranger Than Fiction

Imagine you're at a dinner party. You don't know any party tricks, but you do have a captive audience and you want to dazzle them. So, what do you do? You tell a good story. There’s something about the power of sharing certain anecdotes and memories that capture who you are—and which really seem to connect with other people.

But, while talking about yourself can be easy, as anyone who's had to write a personal essay already knows: writing about yourself is really hard. And yet, if you walk through the memoir section of any bookstore you'll see a lot of people have taken on that challenge...

In this episode of the Curious Minds podcast, we’re diving into the world of memoirs. Memoirs add a tidy narrative arc to the messiness of life, but can you fully trust the truthfulness of the stories you find in their pages? And what can these individual stories offer us as readers, and teach us about creative expression and telling our own stories?

To unpack the art of memoir writing, we hear from New York Times bestselling author Meredith Hall about what it means to tell your story. We also speak to writer and journalist Gavanndra Hodge about how writing about your past can change it. And author and ghostwriter Tom Bromley shares what these individual stories can teach us all about creative expression.

Click on the link below to listen and subscribe on Spotify. Alternatively, you can find the episode on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen and subscribe to the Curious Minds podcast

Remember, to stay up to date with every episode, you can subscribe to Curious Minds for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

This is the final episode in season two of Curious Minds, but if you'd like to discover more stories behind curiosities of the creative world we often take for granted, explore all the episodes from the Curious Minds podcast on our blog.

Learn more about the art of memoir writing and storytelling

If you’ve been inspired by this week’s podcast and want to dive deeper into the world of memoirs or learn more about creative writing, here’s some further reading to get started...

1. From graphic novels to illustrated memoirs, explore books that champion the voices of autistic artists and writers.

2. Learn how to write impactful and emotive short stories based on your personal experiences, with acclaimed writer Shaun Levin.

3. Discover how to overcome artist's block and keep writing your novel or short story with these tried-and-tested creative writing exercises.