I Finish A Sugary Frosting: Notes on the Memoir Writing Process
I am in the very last days of the memoir writing process and polishing A Sugary Frosting / A Memoir of a Girlhood Spent in a Parsonage, the early lifestory of my deceased spouse, Martha Blowen. It’s a time to make sure I have written what I want to write and to check grammar and […]
Write A Better Memoir: 10 How-to Tips
Writers ask me what they can do the most easily to write a better memoir. While I can understand the wish to write more quickly and easily, I’m going to share with you that writing a better memoir needs to be done slowly and thoughtfully. A rushed job is probably going to be a botched […]
Instead of A Writing Prompt – Five Tips for Creating a Memory List
People who are writing a memoir will sometimes say, “I want to write my stories but I have forgotten so many details. Is there any way I can get them back? Should I use writing prompts?” There is one tool above all others that makes the experience of life writing successful. That tool is not […]
How Long Should It Take to Write a Memoir? Set a Deadline!
Have you ever wondered, “How long should it take to write a memoir?” At The Memoir Network, we have come up with a timeline that is realistic for any writer who wishes to write a memoir that doesn’t get stuck in endless rewriting. (more…)
Writing a First Draft: Why They’re Called “First”
Nothing can rightly be called a first unless there is a second. 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 […]
Three Tips for Effective Memoir Pre-Writing
Before you begin to write your memoir, there are a number of non-writing tasks which you must undertake—this phase of compiling your lifestory is called memoir pre-writing, and it is essential to writing better stories. Pre-writing can include… (more…)
Do You Have a Foodoir in You?
The continuing popularity of books about food and cookery is well demonstrated by the vast range available—just look along the cookery and food shelves in any bookshop or at the long lists available online. Many are collections of recipes by well-known chefs and bakers, but there is also another genre which combines memoir writing with […]
4 Tips For Easier, Quicker Writing
You can benefit from easier and quicker writing by adapting appropriate habits of composition. Here are four habits for quicker writing of your first draft that you would do well to learn. They are easy to implement and the rewards are significant. (more…)
4 Tips For Making and Using a Core Memory List to Write More Efficiently
The Core Memory List is a list of the crucial relationships and events which have shaped your life. It contains just ten or fewer items. Use it to write more efficiently. This is because Core Memory Lists are about the relationships and events which, had they not occurred, your life (or your mother’s or father’s, […]