Hi, I’m Tanja,
and I help people write powerful memoirs.
Over the years, I’ve found that successful writers understand the following:
- Community makes all the difference. It’s much easier (and much more fun!) to write a memoir with the right support.
- Self-care is key. To write your memoir with joy and ease, increase your level of self-care. Compassion and kindness are what will get you to the finish line, not perfectionism.
- Structure will help you write your memoir more easily, effectively and efficiently. Because writing a full-length book is a marathon, not a sprint.
Writing your way into the story can help you get started–but in the long run, it’ll cause unnecessary frustration. Memoirs that are written this way often need to be rewritten.
That’s why we take the time to discern the parameters of this specific story when we start working together. We get clear on what belongs as well as what doesn’t, shaping your manuscript in a way that captures your reader.
Because if your reader doesn’t keep turning the pages, you’ve lost your chance at making an impact.
From there, we create a plan to get you to the finish line, using simple techniques to help you organize, plan and create.
We also dive into the craft and technique of memoir, grounding our teachings in examples from contemporary memoirs.
If you’re looking for help writing your memoir, I’d be honored to guide you through the process.
Click here to learn about my Memoir Mastery program.
Once folks have taken my course, I’m available to them for manuscript reviews and private coaching calls.
If you’d like to discuss how my offerings might support you, please schedule a call here. I offer complimentary 15-minute calls to ensure that we’re a good fit.
Official Bio
The author of the award-winning The Secret Life of Grief: A Memoir, Tanja Pajevic is on the faculty of Lighthouse Writers and has taught creative writing and professional writing at the University of Colorado Denver, the Community College of Denver and Indiana University, where she earned her M.F.A. She’s also the author of 9 Steps to Heal Your Resentment and Reboot Your Marriage and is a member of the Fulbright Alumni Association as well as Colorado Authors’ League.
Tanja’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Writer’s Digest, JaneFriedman.com, mindbodygreen, Gawker and Scary Mommy, as well as in literary reviews Shenandoah and Crab Orchard Review. Her memoir The Secret Life of Grief received the Nautilus Silver Book Award, an award honoring “books that inspire and connect our lives as individuals, communities, and global citizens.” Tanja is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, Hemingway Fellowship, Kraft Fellowship, and a faculty award from the University of Colorado Denver for her project “Writing as Healing.” She lives in Boulder, CO, with her family.
Writer, mother, teacher, dancer, wanna-be singer, fierce and tender-hearter
Remember Wristbands
I’ve created black “Remember” wristbands to honor the grieving process and remember our loved ones who’ve passed.