“I don’t have much of a sense that I’m on the way to finishing my memoir,” you lament, “other than to just stop writing.”
This category addresses how you can bring your memoir to a close so that it is both complete and satisfying.
This is not, of course, a question you ask yourself as you begin your memoir, but there comes a time in the process when it becomes obvious to you that you have written your story and it’s now time to wrap it up.
A process of open and close
On this blog, there are many posts that advocate lingering with your writing and with taking the time it takes. The process of writing is usually not best done when it is rushed. Keep your writing options open. The advice to linger is good because too many memoirs are ruined by a “rush job.” But…
The opposite of lingering is also true. You must focus on finishing your memoir—or else you can continue to write for years to come. Writing is great and you must respect the process, but you also need to move on to your next memoir—or to the rest of your life—at some point. You have to bring the process to a close, write to the end and then publish your book.
In conclusion
The posts below both help you to assess when it is time to finish your memoir and also provides techniques for you to arrive at a satisfying conclusion.
If you are sincere about finishing your memoir, the posts below will suggest a number of “rules” to follow to expedite the matter.
How Long Does It Take to Write a Memoir?
Sometimes, years after I’ve heard from someone that he is writing a memoir, I will connect with the writer again. Perhaps it’s three or four or five years later, but the writer is working on the same memoir. I don’t get it. So I ask politely, “What has snagged the memoir?”
2 Causes of Memoir Writer’s Block: Not Telling the Truth or Writing Unimportant Material
Many writers suffer from writer’s block, yet few understand—and much less resolve—its possible causes. There are a number of reasons that contribute to difficulty—especially blockage—in writing. In memoir writing, the infamous “writer’s block” can result from avoidance—that is, you don’t want to deal with uncomfortable material and so you “block.”
How to Finish Writing Your Memoir
Do you wonder how to finish your memoir? I’ve noticed that many people who come to The Memoir Network have already been writing a while. They are not people who are just starting out on the memoir journey. Many have already written 5, 10, 15 or more stories or vignettes. They have been writing for […]
Mechanics of Writing a Memoir: It’s not all Inspiration
Mechanics of writing a memoir – the work of writing a stories and how life can insert delays & provide contemplative times yet leave time left to write.
I Finish A Sugary Frosting: Notes on the Memoir Writing Process
I am in the very last days of the memoir writing process and polishing A Sugary Frosting / A Memoir of a Girlhood Spent in a Parsonage, the early lifestory of my deceased spouse, Martha Blowen. It’s a time to make sure I have written what I want to write and to check grammar and […]
Write to the End: Complete Your Book Manuscript
Here is a surprise blocking solution to complete your book manuscript: don’t write just now. What exactly do I mean when I write this? Here’s an example…
Memoir Writing Deadline: How To Set Yours
When you write as an open-ended task without setting a memoir writing deadline, you are likely to procrastinate and extend the project. What happens when you do not set an end date is, next year or the year after that, you are still writing, revising, and polishing your lifestory. You know how it is: you […]
The Work of Writing a Memoir Can Be Hard: Do it!
No one said it would be easy to show up and do the work of writing a book! “This is hard,” you think as you look at your production. “perhaps I’m not cut out for this.”
How to Pick up Your Memoir Writing Again When You’ve Slacked Off
How do you pick up your memoir writing again? If you have stopped writing because of a holiday, a vacation, an illness, or lassitude (read: “It’s too hard! I want it to be easy!”), make now—today—the time to pick up your memoir writing again.