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There’s often only a permeable line between memoir coaching and editing. In practice, as we writers at the Memoir Network work with a writer, we find myself slipping from coaching a memoir writer to editing the manuscript we are working with and back to coaching. That’s how organically close coaching and editing really are. Depending on the state of your manuscript, coaching or editing or both are called for.

Choosing memoir coaching or editing–How it works

Generally, I, or the editor who has been assigned to you, read sections of your manuscript—say 20-30 pages—and return this edited portion to you with comments and suggestions—and sometimes edits [also known as suggested corrections]. All our notes are done in Microsoft Text Edit—which you can learn in minutes. Manuscripts are returned as an attachment—but snail mail can work well, too, but it is too slow for most people.

I find working on a short segment of your manuscript—20- to 30 pages—to be more effective for contributing to the quality of the memoir than reading the entire text. Sometimes, of course, I have a question on, say, page 17 and then you might protest, “But, this is answered on page 85! You haven’t read the whole manuscript yet!” (more…)

“I have permission [as a memoir writer] not to waffle in my writing,” I was recently informed by a memoir writer.

“Not to waffle” somehow missed the point for me.

Certainly, the memoir writer has permission “not to waffle,” but there is more that is incumbent on the writer. S/he has the obligation not to waffle. As memoir writers, “not to waffle” means to tell our truth about what happened. This is a must. Over the years, I have been amazed at how I can pick up waffling and how, in a workshop setting, others can too. Waffling just comes across waving a “red flag.” So…

Yeah, don’t do it!

But beyond “not to waffle” is telling the truth, the searing truth.

(more…)

How Useful Is A Memoir Timeline?

Have you ever wondered, “How long should it take to write a memoir?”

One answer, of course, is that it takes as long as it takes. While so true, this answer is not useful to those writers who are trying to get their duckies in line—looking at where the time is in their schedules to write, knowing what support to ask from their life partners, etc.

I’ve come up with a calculation for those people who want some sense of how long writing a memoir might take. The following time frame is realistic for any writer who needs a timeline to complete a 200-page memoir. (more…)

I emphatically don’t agree that memoir is fiction. Although a memoir invariably uses fiction techniques—and we will look at one memoir in this post, it must be an as-much-as-possible true accounting of an experience. I must confess to not seeing a problem with the idea of memoir versus fiction. Memoir IS NOT fiction!

A strength of fiction is its ability—when it is done right—to place us in the story, to enable us to get out of our “present” and enter into the time of the story. The memoir writer has to aim for the same level of involvement. In that sense, there is again no conflict of memoir versus fiction.

In many cases, this involves removing the narrator from our field of attention.

An easy mistake to correct

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How important is theme in a memoir?

Theme in a memoir is absolutely important!

Here’s is a distinction between a family-focused autobiography and a  memoir that, I hope, will help you to appreciate the value and the role of theme in your memoir.

First: a reminder of definitions

People are always wanting to know the difference between an autobiography and a memoir. (more…)

Word usage for the memoir writer

Every once in a while, I send you a few of my verbal pet peeves. Here are a few other unfortunate phrases having to do with word usage that have come my way recently. (more…)

Why not continue to write your memoir today?

“What are you waiting for? Why are you avoiding the real work? What will it take for you to go deeper?”

—Phil Cousineau in Stoking the Creative Fires

The Phil Cousineau quote above ought to be for all of us a stirring call to continue—or to begin if that is where we are at—the writing we may have procrastinated about for so long. We fill our days with lesser tasks when we know that what we ought to be doing is writing a memoir.

It is later than you think. In the twenty-five plus years I have been doing this work, I have seen people die without writing their memoir and I have seen people grow old and lose the energy to write their memoir.

In both cases, a lifestory has been lost.
(more…)

How a “one true sentence” can save your memoir

 

I have found the “one true sentence” to be very effective in focusing both my own memoir writing and in the writing of people I have coached and edited. Hemingway’s one true sentence is an effective tool for better writing. (more…)

Becoming a disciplined writer is a practice.

Do you struggle with becoming a  disciplined writer on a regular basis and do you wish you could be more focused? Do you ask yourself, “Why is it so hard to write when I really do want to write?” (more…)

memoir coaching or editing

How Memoir Coaching or Editing Works

By

There’s often only a permeable line between coaching and editing. In practice, as I work with a writer, I find myself slipping from coaching to editing and back. That’s how close coaching and editing really are. Depending on the state of your manuscript, coaching or editing or both are called for. (more…)

telling the truth

Do not waffle in telling the truth

By

Certainly, the memoir writer has permission “not to waffle,” but there is more that is incumbent on the writer. S/he has the obligation not to waffle. As memoir writers, “not to waffle” means to tell our truth about what happened. This is a must. Over the years, I have been amazed at how I can […]

memoir fiction

Memoir Versus Fiction, or Is Memoir Fiction?

By

Is memoir fiction? I emphatically don’t agree that memoir is fiction. Although a memoir invariably uses fiction techniques—and we will look at one in this post it must be an as-much-as-possible true accounting of an experience. (more…)

theme in a memoir

Is Theme in a Memoir The Driving Force?

By

How important is theme in a memoir? Theme in a memoir is absolutely important! Here’s is a distinction between a family-focused autobiography and a memoir that, I hope, will help you to appreciate the value and the role of theme in a memoir. (more…)

word usage

Word Usage

By

Every once in a while, I send you some of my verbal pet peeves. Here are a few other unfortunate phrases that have come my way recently. 1. Amazon just today was offering me a “free gift.” (more…)

Becoming a Disciplined Writer

A First Step to Becoming a Disciplined Writer

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Becoming a disciplined writer is a practice. Do you struggle with becoming a disciplined writer on a regular basis and do you wish you could be more focused? Do you ask yourself, “Why is it so hard to write when I really do want to write?” You have to decide to become a disciplined writer […]