“ Writing is such a lonely work that I try to keep myself cheered up. ”
Don’t try to visualize the great mass audience. There is no such audience—every reader is a different person.
~ William Zinsser
Write about small, self-contained incidents that are still vivid in your memory. If you remember them, it's because they contain a larger truth that your readers will recognize in their own lives. Think small and you'll wind up finding the big themes in your family saga.
Less is more.
Vulnerability has a strength of its own.