The Story Frame Newsletter

The Story Frame

Lessons and Inspiration to Write Your Memoir

You Don't Need an Exceptional Life. You Need to Stop Waiting for One.

Every time I sit down to write, I have to remind myself of something. I am not a celebrated memoirist with a book deal and a profile in The Paris Review. I am a Colombian-American sales professional from Petaluma who writes personal essays in the hours really early in the morning before his daugh...

by Carlos Garbiras — Mar 05, 2026 editing memoir writing

Your Stories Are Fading. Preserve Them in 4 Days (Not 4 Years)

Over the past couple of years, whenever someone I know comes across a good article on the power of storytelling, they forward it to me. I really enjoy receiving these because they confirm what I have long witnessed when I produce storytelling circles or help people with their memoirs. I am notic...

by Carlos Garbiras — Mar 04, 2026 editing memoir storytelling writing

Everything you've been wondering about the Sprint — answered.

The Story Frame Sprint starts March 9th. Before it does, I want to answer every question I've been getting. Here's what the Sprint is: a four-day live workshop where you write one complete, polished memoir story and outline your full 30-chapter memoir — in four hours total, one hour each day. Her...

by Carlos Garbiras — Mar 03, 2026 editing publishing thestoryframe thestoryframesprint writing

I'm Running a Four-Day Sprint Next Week to Help You Write Your Memoir

I'm running The Story Frame Sprint next week with one simple outcome in mind: walk away with one complete, polished memoir story and a full 30-chapter memoir outline — in four days, one hour each. Every person who has ever told me they want to write a memoir already has one. Not written. Not outl...

by Carlos Garbiras — Mar 02, 2026 editing memoir storytelling writing

What's Actually Stopping You From Writing Your Story?

Every writer who comes to me has stories ready to be told. Those stories belong to people who meet three very simple criteria. They have a life they've actually lived. They want the people they love to know about it. And they understand, somewhere in the back of their mind, that nobody is coming ...

by Carlos Garbiras — Feb 28, 2026 productivity storytelling thestoryframesprint writing

30. That's the Whole Memoir. Let Me Show You What I Mean

My goal every year is to finish a memoir of a specific time of my life so my daughters can read it whenever they feel like it. That's the thing I've determined will matter most — not a publishing deal, not a byline, not a writing residency in Ohio. Just the actual finished thing, preserved for th...

Feb 27, 2026 editing storytelling the story frame sprint writing

I Found Hundreds of Photos in My Stepdad's Garage and I Didn't Recognize Most of his Life

I was in Dallas last week for my stepdad's celebration of life. It was the surreal kind of service — the kind that comedies are written about, and maybe one day I will write that story too. But celebrations of life can be healing, even when they're hard. Sitting down to write the eulogy, going th...

by Carlos Garbiras — Feb 26, 2026 editing storytelling writing

The Writing Advice That Works Great If You Don't Have Kids, a Job, or a Life

Every writing coach I have ever read recommends the same thing. Ten minutes of uninterrupted stream-of-consciousness writing. Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way, swears by it. Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones, swears by it. Basically, every person who has ever taught a wr...

by Carlos Garbiras — Feb 25, 2026 editing storytelling writing

Why Do Some Writers Start at the Wrong Place?

I have a mentor who is a gifted storyteller. I met him about ten years ago when we worked at the same company. Through his passion, knowledge, and storytelling, he taught me everything I know about the insurance industry. I hung on every story he told. But I noticed that not everyone in my office...

by Carlos Garbiras — Feb 24, 2026 editing storytelling writing

The Cracker That Reminded Me of Narrative Structure

My youngest daughter knows how to negotiate. Recently, she stood by the foot of her bed — pajamas on, holding on to her butterfly stuffie — and said, "Dadda. I go to sleep if you give me one more snack, keep the light on, and play one more song." I said no to all three. She cried. I reconsidered ...

Feb 23, 2026 memoir storytelling writing

Voice Memos Are Writing Too (Stop Gatekeeping Yourself)

You're not "not writing" when you record voice memos about your story. You're drafting. Writing doesn't mean typing. Your thumbs clicking "record" on your phone counts. That 3-minute ramble about Dad while you're driving? That's your first draft. The voice memo where you're trying to remember exa...

by Carlos Garbiras — Feb 19, 2026 storytelling writing

You Don't Need 2 Hours to Write (Do You Have Five Minutes?)

Five-minute bursts build complete stories. You don't need two uninterrupted hours to write. You need five focused minutes. I call it "chunked focus." Set a timer. Write one section of your story. Stop when it goes off. Tomorrow, write the next section. Five minutes. By the end of the week, you ha...

by Carlos Garbiras — Feb 14, 2026 editing storytelling writing

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The Story Frame

Lessons and Inspiration to Write Your Memoir

The Story Frame

Lessons and Inspiration to Write Your Memoir

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