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How do you turn a lifetime of experiences—including grief, career changes, family conflict, and unexpected opportunities—into a memoir that matters to readers? Matty Dalrymple talks with John DeDakis about how a memoir differs from an autobiography and why a universal theme gives personal stories wider meaning.
John explains how he used a life narrative, a year-by-year timeline, and decades of journals to identify the pivotal moments behind "Plot Twists: A Memoir on Writing and Living." He discusses cutting a 125,000-word first draft, choosing beta readers with enough distance to spot what does not serve the story, and balancing educational insight with entertainment without making a memoir overly prescriptive.
The conversation also explores truth and memory in nonfiction, the risks of writing about other people, and ways to listen, negotiate, and protect relationships without falsifying the story. John shares how journalism, novel writing, personal loss, and grief education shaped his approach—and why every life can hold experiences worth mining.
John DeDakis is a former editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." DeDakis, a former White House correspondent, is the author of six traditionally published novels in the award-winning Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense-thriller series. DeDakis is a motivational speaker, podcaster, one-on-one writing coach, manuscript editor, and regularly teaches novel and memoir writing at literary centers, bookstores, and writers’ conferences nationwide and abroad. He is also a Grief Educator, certified by world-renowned grief expert David Kessler of Grief.com. John’s newest book is Plot Twists: A Memoir on Writing and Living.
Episode Links
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