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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.

 

take a break from writing

Four Reasons to Take a Break from Writing

When should you take a break from writing?

Writing is hard work, and there will be many times when it seems too difficult. You sit at your desk and nothing much comes. Your impulse is to get up to do something—anything—else, as long as it’s not writing! You think of the lawn that needs mowing, the closet that needs cleaning, etc.

But, stop and ask yourself if you may simply need to take a break from writing and need some physical activity, rather than avoiding the work. [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]

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writing your memoir

Writing Your Memoir One Story at a Time—It Adds Up

Make Writing Your Memoir Less Daunting

Writing your memoir does not have to be an intimidating task. Envisioning your autobiography as a series of stories makes the sizable task of writing the stories of a lifetime tolerable and ultimately enjoyable. Lifestories, written singly just as they are told, one by one, add up—sometimes effortlessly—to a memoir.

Whenever I have written a book, I have written it several pages at a time. Were I to ask a beginning writer, “can you produce a 140-page story for me?” most would blanch and then protest, “I can’t write that much!” When I ask people if they can write a 3-, 4-, 5- or even 7-page story, most will answer, “Sure I can do that.” [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]

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my first memoir draft

Writing a First Memoir Draft Was Daunting

At age 54, I wrote the first 56,500 words of my first memoir draft of my book, Showbiz Survival Memoir.

It was cathartic writing a first memoir draft and getting it out of me. Honestly, it was a bit grueling though, — emotionally and even physically — to relive some of the most painful times in my life. [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]

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writing a first draft

Writing a First Draft: Why They’re Called “First”

When you are writing a first draft: nothing can rightly be called a first unless there is a second. First grade implies second grade; first class implies second class; first book implies (we hope) second book, a first draft implies a second draft.

That is why first drafts are called first drafts. A writer must expect to write a second draft, and a third even. No one can sit down and churn out countless pages of prose that don’t need rewriting. Jack Kerouac claimed he did it with On the Road, but we know now that he was stretching the truth. [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]

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jog your memory

(More) Better than Prompts: Five Tips to Help You “Jog Your Memory”

When starting on a memoir, it can be difficult to remember all the stories and memories you would like to include. You naturally want to jog your memory.

When you are intent on writing “from the inside out” as we at The Memoir Network hope you will, there are some useful techniques you can use—to add to compiling your Memory List and perhaps even to stimulate it.
[Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]

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sharing your memoir

How to Get the Most Out of Sharing Your Memoir In-Progress

How sharing your memoir will help

A critical step for a brand-new writer is sharing your memoir writing in progress with others. There is nothing like a reader to help you develop a healthy critical sense of your work. This article is especially for the writer who cringes at the thought of sharing his/her writing.

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conquer perfectionism

Conquer perfectionism when writing your memoir

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This program functions with an open enrollment. Registrations are being accepted now.

It may seem unusual in a program called Writer’s Time: Management that Works to include a module labeled Conquering Perfectionism, but it isn’t. If you want to write your memoir, you will need to conquer perfectionism.

Perfectionism is a big waste of time.

If you want to write your memoir, you will need to conquer perfectionism.

[Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]

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are you procrastinating

Are you procrastinating? Time management tips for writers

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This program functions with an open enrollment and registrations are being accepted.

Are you procrastinating? Putting off today’s writing until tomorrow is not an effective process if your goal is to produce a memoir in the foreseeable future.

Why do people opt to procrastinate? I suppose we can’t really say they “opt” as in they make an active decision. As with other addictions, people generally “slip” into procrastination as their thoughtless reaction—“thoughtless” as in “no thought given to it.”x

Are you “lingering”? Or are you “procrastinating”? 

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prioritize your memoir writing time

Prioritize your memoir writing time

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This program functions with an open enrollment.

How do you prioritize your memoir writing time? Time management calls for understanding how you think of yourself and what you are willing to consider as important in your life. It entails becoming conscious of your priorities.

Prioritize your memoir writing time

While you cannot say “first priority”—prior means first in Latin and there cannot be a “first first”—you can have a number of things that are in first rank in your life: [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]

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