1. Set a schedule for writing.

Many people work better when they commit to a schedule. Try this to get your memoir going again: Write down specific days on which you will work and specify your start and stop hours. Modify this as meets your needs but be vigilant about noting the results.

It’s too easy to say, “I don’t work well with a rigid schedule” and then find that your “write when I feel like it” approach is lacking in results. If this is you, apparently you don’t work well without a schedule either. Try making a schedule a sticking to it and note how this affects your writing production. If your output increases, you have proof that you at least work better with a writing schedule than without one.

2. Underpromise and over deliver when you schedule.

People who overpromise and say they will write five hours a day for seven days a week are often setting themselves up to fail—and become discouraged. The person who underpromises and commits to one hour a day for five days a week and who finds herself writing for two hours one day is likely to feel exuberant and be motivated to continue writing.

To get your memoir going again, set yourself up for success when you create your writing schedule.

3. Remind yourself of the deep reasons that impel you to write your memoir.

Perhaps you want to set the record straight, or you want to “write my book and show people what I can do,” or you want to celebrate a disappearing culture. To get our memoir going again, these reasons will get you a lot further than “I ought to do it” and “it’s a good thing to do.”

Remind yourself of the importance of your work and don’t just put it off with the excuse “someone else will do it if I don’t.”

4. Read a memoir on your topic.

Let yourself be inspired to contribute to the topic. The quality of your memoir writing is also likely to improve the more you expose yourself to the genre of memoir and familiarize yourself with the styles and conventions of memoir writing. The more memoirs you read, the more capable you will be when you sit down to write your own stories—just be careful not to put off your memoir writing by doing nothing but reading the stories of others!

What are your own inspirations to get your memoir going again?