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A major obstacle you may face when prodded to devote yourself to “improving your writing” as you contemplate writing a memoir is that you, as do most people, know how to write.

By “know how to write,” I don’t mean to convey people know how to compose a long-form literary work but that they know how to write shopping lists, enotes, social media posts and sometimes even letters.

Most people in the Western World know how to write—that is, to string words together in a semi-legible and semi-literate manner. Unfortunately, we use the same word for the process of composing a memoir.

But, writing a memoir calls for more than spelling and grammar. It calls for the ability, generated by discipline, to both manage one’s reactions to writing—what some people call the “inner game”—and to handle the requirements of writing’s best practices—the “outer game.”

Both are necessary to improving your writing.

Best writing practices

In this category I am presenting best writing practices of the outer game of writing.

Of course, there is clearly a factor of “inspiration” of some sort in mot successful pieces of writing, but I am wary of emphasizing inspiration, which too many people believe is the key to a successful piece of writing, as it is different from enthusiasm.

Most of us start to write with some enthusiasm. That is great. However, what will ultimately sustain your writing and make improving your writing possible, is knowledge and skill of best writing practices.

By best practices, I refer to techniques used by writers to steer and enhance reader reaction and to keep the reader reading.

In conclusion

Work on improving your writing. The posts below—as all the posts on this blog—will help you to do just that.

Find here many tips and theories about improving your craft. You will learn much to make your memoir more meaningful and more interesting.

Your memoir and your readers will thank you.

write memoir

Learning to Write Memoir Is Like Learning to Swim!

When learning to write memoir, it can feel awkward and uncomfortable as you learn the process, just like learning to swim. We often see people who are not comfortable swimming flail about in the water, their heads reaching up high, desperately, to catch a breath of air. This awkward gesture soon tires them. Try as they might there is not enough air for them as they constrict their ribs, twist their heads, contort their jaws. Soon enough, considering that they had set out to enjoy the water, these people quit and return to the shore. Swimming is over for the day. [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]

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interest in memoir lags

When Writers Lose Interest,
 It Might Actually Be Healthy

It’s common for a writer to find that she has written much about a period of her life that is now uninteresting to her. Though she wrote with enthusiasm, intending to include this material in her memoir, it doesn’t seem to merit inclusion now. She may be despondent. “I worked so hard! Now I want to leave this out! Is this going to happen with everything I write?” Why do writers lose interest in parts of their memoir.

I’ve heard clients express this frustration and I’ve also experienced it myself. What’s up?

I believe the writer who now finds some of his material no longer of interest to him has accomplished an inner goal and has produced a good piece of healing writing. He is now free of the material’s emotional intensity and no longer needs to give it attention. 

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going deeper in a memoir

Going Deeper in a Memoir: Look at “Life’s Failed Contracts”

This post is about going deeper in a memoir, deeper even than you thought you could go when you started. This may be hard, but take a look at the contracts with life we make and the terrible disappointment that inevitably comes from making them. All of us at some time or other have made such a contract with life—in fact, we make them over and over again until we finally grow up and become present to the unfolding reality. [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]

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vivid characters

Vivid Characters Are Essential in a Memoir

Why Creating Vivid Characters is Essential

The people in your story are your characters. It is your task as memoir writer to bring vivid characters to the attention of your readers. You must use descriptive writing to present believable characters. Without other people, our lives and memoirs risk becoming dull. Although ideas are pivotal for many individuals, relationships are even more commanding. We are intrigued with who other people are and how they function. “Who’s that? What are they doing? Where did they come from?” These are the questions we want answered. To write a strong story, capitalize on this interest.
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Show, don't tell about your characters

Show Don’t Tell Your Characters, or Don’t Describe Your Characters–Show Them!

The old adage “Show, don’t tell your characters!” is as true as ever. It is one technique that will always improve your writing. I admit that there is some great writing that makes a precedent for “tell,” but as a rule, “show” is more effective.

1. Your computer and its keyboards are your movie camera. Show Don’t Tell Your Characters.

In a film, a director ( that’s you!) doesn’t have an actor go on screen to tell the audience that someone is angry. Instead, he shows the character in a scene where anger is in action. [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]

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memoir is long form

Memoir is Long Form Writing.

One challenge many first-time and only-time writers of memoir face is understanding that long-form and short-form writing are not the same. That is, long form is not just longer short form. Long form has its requirements.

Let me explain how memoir is long form

Many of the writers who come to me for coaching and editing are already fine writers—of short form. They can write coherent and clear sentences and their paragraphs convey meaning. There is no problem with their ability to write short form—the essay or blog post. This may lead them to overestimate their ability to produce long form.

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better self-editing

Better Self-Editing: 3 Easy Techniques

In today’s post, we look deeply into 3 techniques for better self-editing—obviously there are many more but these three are a start for a short post.

I have been a memoir editor since 1990. In that time, I have worked with hundreds and perhaps thousands of memoir manuscripts.

A few manuscripts have come to me requiring only slight tweaking. The texts are clear, coherent and concise. They are nearly ready for publication. Their authors have created an interesting and well-crafted piece of writing. They have clearly mastered better self-editing.

Too many other manuscripts, however, have come to me at a stage that reflects tired or exasperated writers. They seem to be saying I’m-ready-to-have-this-writing-over-with!

The challenge of self-editing

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telling the truth

Solving Problems of Telling the Truth in Your Memoir

When telling the truth, how much of what happened do you have to tell? At what point does withholding the truth become a lie? For instance, in all her famous diaries, as Anais Nin celebrated the freedoms of her life as an artist, she never once mentioned that she was bankrolled by a husband. True, she could not mention his name or details of his life because he had refused her legal permission to do so in print. But wouldn’t the truth have been better served if she had mentioned the working husband who paid her bills and made her artistic life free of financial constraints possible?

Telling the truth is not easy

In that sense, her diaries have always seemed to me to contain a fundamental lie and avoided telling the truth. Nin clearly wanted her readers to believe that she lived independently as a woman and a writer. The fact of her husband’s support makes it evident that the self-sufficient persona she projected was wishful thinking. How much truth to tell is always a subjective decision that can be made only in the context of the writer’s life and family. The following are considerations to keep in mind as you decide how to solve telling the truth.

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