If you are like many new writers, deciding to write a memoir had produced much excitement. You are psyched by the thought of how good this piece of writing is going to be and how finally you are going to get your book written and out into the world. This initial feeling is often followed by the challenge of actually getting started with the writing.
Writing begins to seem like pick-and-shovel work!
A letdown sets in. Or, perhaps the feeling is better described as fear. You’ve never written a memoir before. Where do you start and how do you keep going? And why should you ever believe you could pull this one off! After all, you’ve been a nurse or an accountant or a housewife or a UPS carrier—not a writer. What do you know about writing?
Are you supposed to have an outline, you ask yourself, and is there a best point in the story to launch your writing? Should you start from the beginning? You want to “do it right.”
Success is possible—if you commit to getting started.
Many people just like you have succeeded at what you propose to do. One day, they had a book in hand to pass on to family friends and perhaps to the world.
You, too, can succeed at getting started writing an interesting and meaningful memoir. It takes determination and discipline—and some knowledge of how to put a story together. But…
Not to worry. This is what the Memoir Writer’s Blog is here to do: we can help you write the best memoir you are capable of producing.
In conclusion
In this section, we offer you some conceptual and hands-on suggestions for you to start writing a memoir well so that you keep writing to the end.
Where Do You Begin Writing Your Memoir?
Is there a best place to start writing your memoir? It’s a quandary: where do you start writing your memoir? Many people may say: from the beginning. But, I don’t think that is the best place to start composing. The answer is actually quite simple.
Why we write stories that fascinate us
Why we write stories. Stories fascinate us all our lives. What is the meaning of telling (and listening to) all of these stories? Obviously, stories entertain us, but our need to be entertained doesn’t fully explain our great hunger for stories.
Use This Instead of Writing Prompts
In this video, Use This Instead of Writing Prompts, we discuss what to use instead of writing prompts. Writing should matter.
Six Reasons to Join a Long Distance Memoir Writing Program
Memoir writers—as all writers—work in isolation. When you join a memoir writing program—a forum, you not only get answers to persistent questions or reassurance to debilitating doubts, but you form community as you persist in the long, lonely task of writing.
You Need Formal Research
Interviewing family members and friends is clearly a form of research, but interviews alone are usually not enough to give your stories the depth they require. For that, you need formal research.
Distance Learning: A Precious Opportunity
For most emerging writers, enrolling in an adult-learning program is an exciting experience. At long last, for a period of time that is long enough to make a difference, you have the opportunity to immerse yourself in learning the “best practices” of the writing craft that you has been so wanting to learn for a […]
Scope: What’s Right for You?
In this video, Scope: What’s Right for You?, I ask how much time and energy are you willing to give to writing your memoir?
Writing a Non-Fiction Book
A common lament, I hear from writers goes like this, “I wanted a book, and I got off to a good start writing a memoir. I’ve always wanted to write a book, but then I just stopped. I don’t know why.” What I have sometimes found is that people approach memoir-writing as an easy access […]
6 Easy Steps to Creating a Book of Memoirs
Celebrating and honoring your life by remembering and writing both big and small stories is very rewarding. It is a significant way to understand your life and to come to peace with it. Your memoirs are a legacy your family will treasure for generations–don’t you wish your grandparents had written their memoirs? Follow these simple […]