Member Menu

Navigation

Theme influences choices for every element in the story: plot development, characterization, and setting.

Here’s the shell of a plot: your father was laid off; a difficult time followed for the family; your father received additional training and obtained a different job.

Your treatment of this plot will vary according to your theme.

Let’s suppose the following is your theme: “events whose consequences we can’t understand happen gratuitously to us in our lives, but we can always make the best of things.” In the elaboration of this particular theme (message), you will find it natural to set your father’s being laid off not only with his reaction at the time but also with its consequences. (more…)

Photos are the driving force behind the story told in most albums–no photo, no story. It shouldn’t be
that way!

Your photos are obviously important. They are a terrific visual record—but the photos do not pinpoint the story. They don’t tell the date, don’t tell who was there, don’t tell what happened before or after the photo was taken. You need to write lifestories in your photo albums to complete the ‘picture’. (more…)

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This eprogram functions with an open enrollment. Register today to find more memoir writing time.

How do you spend your memoir writing time? Your commitment to your memoir is the engine that will propel your writing to completion. Awareness of how effectively you spend your time—and the increasing skill with which you make use of your time—is the vehicle that will get your memoir written more quickly. (more…)

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.

(more…)

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”? 

(more…)

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: (more…)

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

The first step to maximize your writing time is to commit to writing your memoir—really commit. More than other choice, committing to write will focus you and make every other decision easier—and even sometimes unnecessary.

“But I already want to write my memoir!” I can hear some hypothetical writer protesting. “I am very interested.”

How “committed” manages time and how “interested in” does not

No, commitment is not about wanting to write a memoir, not about trying to write one, and not about being interested in writing one… (more…)

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from the introduction to Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This program functions with an open enrollment. Registrations are being accepted now. Make time to write your memoir—now! There’s no denying that writing a memoir takes time—a lot of time. In this program, you will learn strategies for making time to write your memoir—and you probably have more time than you think! We understand your desire to write a memoir. We’re writers ourselves, and just like you, we have also yearned to preserve our stories in writing. We know all too well (more…)

Most of the people I work with opt for self-publication. As independently published authors, they are the ones who organize their own book launch. Writing a memoir is a long haul and it is refreshing to have an event to gather friends and family and fans together to acknowledge that an end and a beginning are occurring. The Memoir Network has participated in a number of book launches. Here is a distillation of what has made these launches successful.  Follow the tips below to organize a book launch. (more…)

write lifestories in photo albums

Write Your Lifestories into Your Photo Albums

By

Photos are the driving force behind the story told in most albums–no photo, no story. It shouldn’t be that way! Your photos are obviously important. They are a terrific visual record—but the photos do not pinpoint the story. They don’t tell the date, don’t tell who was there, don’t tell what happened before or after […]

how do you spend your memoir writing time

How do you spend your memoir writing time?

By

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This eprogram functions with an open enrollment. Register today to find more memoir writing time. How do you spend your memoir writing time? Your commitment to your memoir is the engine that will propel your writing to completion. Awareness of how […]

conquer perfectionism

Conquer perfectionism when writing your memoir

By

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 […]

are you procrastinating

Are you procrastinating? Time management tips for writers

By

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 […]

prioritize your memoir writing time

Prioritize your memoir writing time

By

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 […]

commit to writing your memoir

Commit to writing your best memoir with a time management strategy

By

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This program functions with an open enrollment. The first step to maximize your writing time is to commit to writing your memoir—really commit. More than other choice, committing to write will focus you and make every other decision easier—and even sometimes […]

making time to write your memoir

Making time to write your memoir–Time management that works

By

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from the introduction to Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This program functions with an open enrollment. Registrations are being accepted now. Make time to write your memoir—now! There’s no denying that writing a memoir takes time—a lot of time. In this program, you will learn strategies […]