Allison K Williams
@allisonkwilliams.bsky.social
Formerly GuerillaMemoir over there
Writer, editor at Brevity, literal fire-eater
Give yourself permission.
linktr.ee/guerillamemoir
Writer, editor at Brevity, literal fire-eater
Give yourself permission.
linktr.ee/guerillamemoir
Reposted by Allison K Williams
Who's the reader for your memoir? Why answering this question will help you find a publishing deal @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/10/08/a... #WritingCommunity #writinglife #authorlife #publishing #skywriters
Successfully Selling Memoir: It’s About the Reader
By Allison K Williams The Walking Library in London “Writing an essay collection or a memoir is an act of generosity. A common misconception is that these kinds of books are all about the aut…
brevity.wordpress.com
October 10, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Who's the reader for your memoir? Why answering this question will help you find a publishing deal @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/10/08/a... #WritingCommunity #writinglife #authorlife #publishing #skywriters
Reposted by Allison K Williams
barbara peaches, painted by mary daisy arnold, 1912
September 29, 2025 at 4:18 AM
barbara peaches, painted by mary daisy arnold, 1912
Reposted by Allison K Williams
The fine art of perhapsing - essential sometimes for memoirists, also useful for novelists. @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/09/23/r... #writingcommunity #authorcommunity #writingtips #memoir #writinglife #skywriters
Reconstruction: Writing the Unknown As If It’s Real Makes Stronger Scenes
By Allison K Williams How do you “show” when you just don’t know? First-person POV in both memoir and fiction demands emotional truth—but what happens when the main character doesn’t (or can’t) kno…
brevity.wordpress.com
September 24, 2025 at 8:06 AM
The fine art of perhapsing - essential sometimes for memoirists, also useful for novelists. @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/09/23/r... #writingcommunity #authorcommunity #writingtips #memoir #writinglife #skywriters
Reposted by Allison K Williams
Super excited to return to @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social's Craft Talks to teach a webinar on Micro Memoirs. This tiny form combines the best parts of memoir and poetry. And the early bird price is only $15!
Learn more: writingcraft.com/event/micro-...
Learn more: writingcraft.com/event/micro-...
WEBINAR | Micro Memoirs: Writing Tiny True Stories - Craft Talks
Can you write a powerful, true story in less than 300 words? Learn how to write emotionally resonant, attention-grabbing micro memoirs.
writingcraft.com
September 24, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Super excited to return to @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social's Craft Talks to teach a webinar on Micro Memoirs. This tiny form combines the best parts of memoir and poetry. And the early bird price is only $15!
Learn more: writingcraft.com/event/micro-...
Learn more: writingcraft.com/event/micro-...
Reposted by Allison K Williams
A common mistake when trying to create empathy in the reader - @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/09/25/c... #writingcommunity #authorcommunity #writingtips #writinglife #skywriters
Don’t Ask Readers to Cry for a Stranger (‘Cause They Won’t)
By Allison K Williams Ever been to a funeral for someone you don’t know? Maybe your spouse’s coworker’s spouse, or your mother’s friend’s cousin. You felt the warm, hu…
brevity.wordpress.com
September 26, 2025 at 6:44 PM
A common mistake when trying to create empathy in the reader - @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/09/25/c... #writingcommunity #authorcommunity #writingtips #writinglife #skywriters
Reposted by Allison K Williams
This just happened!!! I’m so excited. It will be my first time at @awpwriter.bsky.social! Thrilled to be on a panel with @janefriedman.com @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social Darien Hsu Gee & Tonya Todd! 💗
August 22, 2025 at 12:01 AM
This just happened!!! I’m so excited. It will be my first time at @awpwriter.bsky.social! Thrilled to be on a panel with @janefriedman.com @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social Darien Hsu Gee & Tonya Todd! 💗
Reposted by Allison K Williams
"The rawest parts of ourselves are never tidy. They can make us uncomfortable. But that’s okay. That’s the point of putting truth on the page."
@allisonkwilliams.bsky.social @riverheadbooks.bsky.social @dintywmoore.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/09/11/g...
@allisonkwilliams.bsky.social @riverheadbooks.bsky.social @dintywmoore.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/09/11/g...
What Elizabeth Gilbert Gets Right About Telling the Hardest Truths
By Rebecca Morrison I met Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the blockbuster Eat, Pray, Love, at a book event in DC last year. It wasn’t one of those quick “hello, sign my book” interactions. I arriv…
brevity.wordpress.com
September 11, 2025 at 3:51 PM
"The rawest parts of ourselves are never tidy. They can make us uncomfortable. But that’s okay. That’s the point of putting truth on the page."
@allisonkwilliams.bsky.social @riverheadbooks.bsky.social @dintywmoore.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/09/11/g...
@allisonkwilliams.bsky.social @riverheadbooks.bsky.social @dintywmoore.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/09/11/g...
Reposted by Allison K Williams
What might make your trauma memoir stand out? @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/08/05/d... #writingcommunity #memoir #authorlife #writinglife #skywriters
“Sh*t Happened” Isn’t Enough: Crafting Compelling Memoir from Dramatic Action
By Allison K Williams Recently, I heard a panel of distinguished agents and publishing-house editors discussing trends in publishing, social media, and where authors fit in the literary machine. Wh…
brevity.wordpress.com
August 5, 2025 at 8:10 PM
What might make your trauma memoir stand out? @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/08/05/d... #writingcommunity #memoir #authorlife #writinglife #skywriters
Reposted by Allison K Williams
In stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, we're not sharing the 'what'. We're sharing the 'why and how' - why and how something matters. Love this by @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/08/12/m... #writingcommunity #writinglife #memoir #skywriters
Memoir as Reliquary: Making Your Story Matter
By Allison K Williams What makes a place, or a thing, matter? In The Late Scholar, Jill Paton Walsh’s continuation of Dorothy L. Sayers’ Golden Age detective novels, Peter Wimsey sees a…
brevity.wordpress.com
August 12, 2025 at 8:02 PM
In stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, we're not sharing the 'what'. We're sharing the 'why and how' - why and how something matters. Love this by @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/08/12/m... #writingcommunity #writinglife #memoir #skywriters
Reposted by Allison K Williams
My CNF was published today by Sudden Flash. This was born in a workshop with @dintywmoore.bsky.social and @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social and revised in @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness.
yoursuddenflash.blogspot.com/2025/07/grie... Sudden Flash: Grief is a Steep Hill to Climb
yoursuddenflash.blogspot.com/2025/07/grie... Sudden Flash: Grief is a Steep Hill to Climb
Grief is a Steep Hill to Climb
I was a voyeur watching with fascination like a child at a holiday parade.
yoursuddenflash.blogspot.com
July 23, 2025 at 6:04 PM
My CNF was published today by Sudden Flash. This was born in a workshop with @dintywmoore.bsky.social and @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social and revised in @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness.
yoursuddenflash.blogspot.com/2025/07/grie... Sudden Flash: Grief is a Steep Hill to Climb
yoursuddenflash.blogspot.com/2025/07/grie... Sudden Flash: Grief is a Steep Hill to Climb
Reposted by Allison K Williams
I'm thrilled for the author who triumphed in this competition, appalled at the lazyass publisher who expected her to be as expert at marketing as writing. Just what was the publisher going to add? @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/07/03/n... #writingcommunity #skywriters
No Expiration on Dreams: How I Published My Debut Novel at Seventy-Seven
By Trish McDonald “Don’t you realize everything has an expiration date?” A literary agent asked me this question as I stood in front of a panel of publishing executives. It was 2020 and I had enter…
brevity.wordpress.com
July 4, 2025 at 7:12 AM
I'm thrilled for the author who triumphed in this competition, appalled at the lazyass publisher who expected her to be as expert at marketing as writing. Just what was the publisher going to add? @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/07/03/n... #writingcommunity #skywriters
Reposted by Allison K Williams
www.minnpost.com/community-vo... Thanks, @minnpostbsky.social, for posing this question to readers and for publishing my essay. @susanlee.bsky.social @asantana70.bsky.social @chriswarcraft.bsky.social @jbendery.bsky.social @nplusonemag.com @hcrichardson.bsky.social @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social
What does our democracy need now?
The sense of community I felt at a Capitol vigil for the Hortmans gave me insight and hope for our democracy.
www.minnpost.com
June 29, 2025 at 3:43 PM
www.minnpost.com/community-vo... Thanks, @minnpostbsky.social, for posing this question to readers and for publishing my essay. @susanlee.bsky.social @asantana70.bsky.social @chriswarcraft.bsky.social @jbendery.bsky.social @nplusonemag.com @hcrichardson.bsky.social @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social
Reposted by Allison K Williams
Let’s make hot commie summer national, guys
Zohran Mamdani's shock win has Wall Street fretting over "hot commie summer"
Mamdani’s Shock Win Has Wall Street Fretting Over ‘Hot Commie Summer’
Even Zohran Mamdani’s detractors recognize that the vibes are with the 33-year-old democratic socialist.
bloom.bg
June 25, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Let’s make hot commie summer national, guys
Reposted by Allison K Williams
This challenge starts June 25th. Read the archives of a favorite flash journal and get your name in the hat to win $400. www.smokelong.com/the-archive-...
The Archive Challenge — Win $400! - SmokeLong Quarterly
How often do you read the literary journals you submit your work to? Flash has been around for centuries but as “flash” only for around 23 years, when James Thomas’s wife suggested the term. Lots of o...
www.smokelong.com
June 23, 2025 at 7:15 PM
This challenge starts June 25th. Read the archives of a favorite flash journal and get your name in the hat to win $400. www.smokelong.com/the-archive-...
Reposted by Allison K Williams
"First comes the joyful feeling: Finally! My time has come! Then comes the sinking feeling: Wait. This doesn’t even mention the title of my book. Could they even have read it in a week?" ~ @sheilasquill.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/06/25/d...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/06/25/d...
Dear Writer, Don’t Bite
Dear Writer/Artist/Creative Person of Some Type— We have been admiring your writing/painting/non-specific creative thing for a while/some time/the length of time it takes to do a Google search now …
brevity.wordpress.com
June 25, 2025 at 11:52 AM
"First comes the joyful feeling: Finally! My time has come! Then comes the sinking feeling: Wait. This doesn’t even mention the title of my book. Could they even have read it in a week?" ~ @sheilasquill.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/06/25/d...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/06/25/d...
Reposted by Allison K Williams
Please take a break from reading war coverage to read this perfect gem of a #summer essay by Lindsey Pharr in the current Brevity @dintywmoore.bsky.social mag.
You'll thank me later.
brevitymag.com/current-issu...
#WritingCommunity
You'll thank me later.
brevitymag.com/current-issu...
#WritingCommunity
The Night Chorus | Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction
brevitymag.com
June 23, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Please take a break from reading war coverage to read this perfect gem of a #summer essay by Lindsey Pharr in the current Brevity @dintywmoore.bsky.social mag.
You'll thank me later.
brevitymag.com/current-issu...
#WritingCommunity
You'll thank me later.
brevitymag.com/current-issu...
#WritingCommunity
Reposted by Allison K Williams
Just want to chime in and agree with all the people that have been saying that it is not stupid or frivolous to make art even though it feels like the world is going crazy right now.
On the contrary, it's books and movies and music and art that gets us through the hard times – so we need it now.
On the contrary, it's books and movies and music and art that gets us through the hard times – so we need it now.
June 24, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Just want to chime in and agree with all the people that have been saying that it is not stupid or frivolous to make art even though it feels like the world is going crazy right now.
On the contrary, it's books and movies and music and art that gets us through the hard times – so we need it now.
On the contrary, it's books and movies and music and art that gets us through the hard times – so we need it now.
Reposted by Allison K Williams
Hey, it's here! My new book comes out today. Hope you like it. ❤
June 24, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Hey, it's here! My new book comes out today. Hope you like it. ❤
Reposted by Allison K Williams
Rolling Stone has excerpted an essay from my forthcoming book. It's about what happens when you get all of your info about the world from the TV (cops are heroes!), and then go out into the world and see for yourself. www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv...
Copaganda and Me
Maris Kreizman writes about the way police are mythologized in popular culture in this excerpt from her book 'I Want to Burn This Place Down'
www.rollingstone.com
June 24, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Rolling Stone has excerpted an essay from my forthcoming book. It's about what happens when you get all of your info about the world from the TV (cops are heroes!), and then go out into the world and see for yourself. www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv...
Reposted by Allison K Williams
This story by @rpmirabella.bsky.social is so gorgeous and strange and sad, I loved it. That last line! hexliterary.com?p=2727
Volcano People by Richard Mirabella
Our sister went to help the people who came out of the volcano. She told us she was going to leave at the 4th of July picnic, while we sat around eating corn, our hands fatty with butter, silk in our ...
hexliterary.com
June 22, 2025 at 7:24 PM
This story by @rpmirabella.bsky.social is so gorgeous and strange and sad, I loved it. That last line! hexliterary.com?p=2727
Reposted by Allison K Williams
I’ve been writing for years. But lately, I needed more simplicity. I tried Substack. A different energy, a different pace. Two tools, two ways of showing up online.
📖 metahussard.substack.com/p/what-if-su...
What space do you write from these days? #substack #wordpress #writing
📖 metahussard.substack.com/p/what-if-su...
What space do you write from these days? #substack #wordpress #writing
What if Substack Became the WordPress of Ten Years Ago?
What if publishing had (finally) become simple again? Here’s what Substack made me realize after 10 years on WordPress.
metahussard.substack.com
June 22, 2025 at 8:50 AM
I’ve been writing for years. But lately, I needed more simplicity. I tried Substack. A different energy, a different pace. Two tools, two ways of showing up online.
📖 metahussard.substack.com/p/what-if-su...
What space do you write from these days? #substack #wordpress #writing
📖 metahussard.substack.com/p/what-if-su...
What space do you write from these days? #substack #wordpress #writing
So pleased to see Brevity among such luminaries!
🏆 From 1093 nominations for 324 magazines, the results are in!
Here is who Chill Sub’s Community has named the BEST NONFICTION LIT MAGS OF 2024
⬇️ Their details & how to send your work
www.chillsubs.com/lists/commun...
Here is who Chill Sub’s Community has named the BEST NONFICTION LIT MAGS OF 2024
⬇️ Their details & how to send your work
www.chillsubs.com/lists/commun...
June 20, 2025 at 5:37 PM
So pleased to see Brevity among such luminaries!
Reposted by Allison K Williams
For Brevity Magazine, I wrote about a UBS drive of photos and how they changed my writing brevity.wordpress.com/2023/10/31/p...
Improve Your Memoir by Thinking Like a Photographer
By Grace Hwang Lynch My father handed me a black plastic USB drive in an old bill envelope with a glassine window. It was smaller than my finger and looked like one of the many useful things a retired...
brevity.wordpress.com
November 2, 2023 at 3:41 PM
For Brevity Magazine, I wrote about a UBS drive of photos and how they changed my writing brevity.wordpress.com/2023/10/31/p...
Reposted by Allison K Williams
Paraphrasing for brevity: Misinformation evokes more outrage than real news, and users are more willing to share outrage-evoking misinformation without reading it first. SCIENCE magazine 2024. MORAL: when you feel outraged, scrutinize!
December 8, 2024 at 9:53 AM
Paraphrasing for brevity: Misinformation evokes more outrage than real news, and users are more willing to share outrage-evoking misinformation without reading it first. SCIENCE magazine 2024. MORAL: when you feel outraged, scrutinize!