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When Nancy Pelosi sits down to write her memoirs what ought she to do to make the writing interesting? Hint: fame and power in themselves are not enough to intrigue a reader. Here are five memoir writing tips to know.

Writing her memories of her years in Washington will be challenging to Nancy Pelosi but not as hard as some people think. If she is willing to follow the five simple steps I will outline below, she can succeed at writing an interesting and meaningful autobiography. (More and more people—in fact, many who at first think they couldn’t—are succeeding at exploring and honoring their pasts in this way.)

These five memoir writing tips to know are among the most powerful—and easiest—to implement in personal and family history writing.

Good luck—to Nancy Pelosi and to you!

1) Make a Memory List.

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This is the third in a series of posts on the development of The Memoir Network. In the first and second of the previous posts, I wrote about the beginnings of the Turning Memories Into Memoirs workshops. In this post, I write about how and when The Memoir Network evolved This post will interest memoir writers who wonder how The Memoir Network grew to its present status. Its services—which are necessary both for the success of writers and for The Memoir Network—saw light incrementally over a decade. Memoir Professionals will find the additional attraction of seeing modeled how they, too, (more…)
Editor’s note: In the previous post, I wrote about the birth of the workshop idea. In this post, I write about giving the developing memoir workshop structure. If you missed the first post, go here to read it before going on. (The sequence will enhance your experience.) After my third presentation to her Foster Grandparents, Mary and I wrote a grant to submit to the Maine Humanities Council. It was for three 30-hour workshops at each of the three facilities where I had done my presentation on What Became Of Them, my collection of autobiographical short fiction. The workshops were (more…)

In October of 1988, following upon the publication of my book of short stories, What Became of Them and Other Stories from Franco America, I was asked to read from this collection of autobiographical fiction to a group of foster grandparents. It was to prove how I started to teach memoir workshops.

It seemed good marketing to present to another group of people—potential book buyers. The reading would also give me an opportunity to send in a release to the local newspaper.

I accepted the invitation, but not without some hesitation. Might this group be too small?

Mary, the woman who coordinated the meeting, had told me however that, after my book program, she was confident many people in the room—Franco-Americans themselves— would want to hear the stories and share theirs. At that time, I had no mind to teach a memoir workshop.

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D: What motivates you to write a memoir? I asked Joe Skinkis. Here he shares how his many life experiences have impelled him to write his life stories.

I am a 75-year-old man who lives in Thailand with my 30-year-old wife. One day, we may have a child. I would like to have my child learn from my mistakes and to glean the positive aspects of my experience. (more…)

Book marketing during a pandemic can be challenging for memoirists. Guest poster Kathleen Pooler shares tips on connecting with your audience during these uncertain times we are going through. When Chris Baty at the Writer’s Digest conference in 2012, said, “Have faith. There’s someone out there who has waited her entire life for your story,” I felt as if he was speaking straight to my heart. After many hard-earned years of discovering my voice and story, I was unsettled with my marketing. This is similar to how many authors are feeling about marketing today.  Book signings are rare now in (more…)

DL: The following is a guest post by a write who co-incidently bears the family name of Guest—Colin  Guest. It presents his first days working in Saudi Arabia. The excerpt is form Follow in the Tigerman’s Footsteps / The Memoirs of a Serial Expat.

On my arrival at Jeddah Airport, now called the King Abdulaziz International Airport, Harold was there to meet me. As it was lunchtime by the time we arrived on site, Harold took me straight to the canteen. As we walked in, I noticed two seated English guys having lunch. On seeing me walk in, one looked up.

“Do you have my passport?” he asked. (more…)

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 a number of months—sometimes even years—and are concluding that they are spinning their wheels, that they are not producing a book as they so want to do. They realize they are not on the path to bringing their memoirs to a finish. What they are doing is writing stand-along piece after stand-alone piece. Well, a stand-alone piece is not a bad goal really—wouldn’t you love to have stand-alone stories from your grandparents? It’s just that stand-alones are really just not what they want to leave as a legacy. So, how do you finish writing your memoir?

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DL: When I sent a call out for vignettes on diversity, I had not thought of intra-psychic diversity but here came a piece from Sue Lebel Young based on this very modality! Sue is a long time subscriber to this e-newsletter. Here is her post answering “how to write different parts of myself in my memoir.”

I have a book about my struggle with and eventual freedom from what I am calling FOOD FRENZY.  The book is called FOOD FIX: OLD NOURISHMENT FOR NEW HUNGERS. It is another example of different parts of myself in my memoir

How to Write Different Parts of Myself in My Memoir Can Be Interesting

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The Memoir Network Evolved

How The Memoir Network Evolved

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The Memoir Network evolved with thought. Its services—which are necessary for the success of writers and of the Memoir Network—grew regularly over a decade. (more…)

The Memoir Network

Working in Saudi Arabia

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DL: The following is a guest post by a write who co-incidently bears the family name of Guest—Colin  Guest. It presents his first days working in Saudi Arabia. The excerpt is form Follow in the Tigerman’s Footsteps / The Memoirs of a Serial Expat. On my arrival at Jeddah Airport, now called the King Abdulaziz […]

finish writing your memoir

How to Finish Writing Your Memoir

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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 […]