FINDING STORIES
The world is full of stories. Mine collect in journals, spill onto postcards and scraps of paper, come to conclusions in computer files, call to me in dreams. I write what I believe is true about my experiences, not just events that happened to me.
I’m not sure what’s more important: the raw aliveness of a dashed-off journal entry or the carefully developed and edited essay, finally (one hopes) complete. I only know that every story is a shard of mirror that shows me pieces of who I am and what it means to be human.
My job is to claim my stories and help others find theirs. It’s a good life.
About Susan
Susan Bono brings wry humor, gentle guidance, and ever-evolving wisdom to the teaching of memoir and personal essay. From 1995-2012 she edited, published, and distributed Tiny Lights: A Journal of Personal Narrative, a small press gem that began as a five-page newsletter mailed to a few dozen friends and grew to twenty pages of personal essay and original art with hundreds of loyal readers. From 1998-2015, the online version of Tiny Lights captured what couldn’t be contained in the newsstand editions, including quarterly postings of micro essays and a monthly forum dedicated to craft and process. She has lent her time and talents to the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference for more than a decade and was the editor of MCWC’s conference journal, the Noyo River Review, for eight years.
A California-born teacher, freelance editor, and short-form memoirist, Susan has facilitated writing workshops since 1993, helping hundreds of writers find and develop their voices. She often writes about domestic life set in her small town of Petaluma. She and her husband have two grown sons and are former keepers of chickens.
I have only the highest praise for Susan’s abilities as a leader, mentor, and teacher. She turns questions or comments relating to the writing process into valuable lessons. I always leave her classes feeling inspired.
- Margit Liesche, author of Triptych and other mysteries
Susan Bono makes it safe for a person who has always wanted to write to put a toe in the water.
- Ginny Rorby, author of How to Speak Dolphin and other young adult novels.