Making Meaning of Your Memories

If you've been telling yourself you'll write your memoir "when things calm down," I have some bad news: things rarely calm down. Life stays full. The laundry keeps needing to be folded, the inbox keeps refilling, and the story you've been carrying around in your head stays right where it is—unwritte...

You might think your author platform begins the day your book is finished. It doesn’t. It begins the moment you decide your story is worth sharing. And for many writers—especially memoir writers—that moment comes long before the final chapter is written.

So… what is an author platform?

An author p...

Every writer faces self-doubt. But memoir writers face it in a particular and personal way, because the subject matter is you. Your life. Your choices. Your wounds and your recoveries, your failures and your reinventions. When you write a novel, rejection is about the work. When you write a memoir, ...

You’ve imagined it: the moment your memoir is finally in someone’s hands. But before you can get there, you need to make a foundational decision, and it’s one most aspiring authors underestimate. Not just how to publish, but which path is genuinely right for you.

The publishing landscape has change...

This week in Memories to Manuscript, my course to get started writing your memoir, three writers read scenes from their lives. Different decades, settings, and emotional terrain.

But as I listened, I found myself noticing something deeper; not just what they wrote, but what good memoir writing requ...

Memoir writing is more than recounting events; it’s about uncovering the deeper truths of how those events shaped you. As memoirists, we dig through the raw material of our lives, not just to relive the past, but to understand it, learn from it, and share our hard-won wisdom with others.

Marion Roa...

You want to write your memoir—but something keeps getting in the way. Time. Energy. Fear. Perfectionism. Life. All legitimate barriers.

But writing a memoir isn’t just about finding inspiration. It’s about building habits.

In Atomic Habits, James Clear’s best-selling book on how to make tiny chang...

Every writer has their version of it—that tightening in the chest before you sit down. The sudden urge to fold laundry instead of writing. The inner whisper that says, “What if this isn’t any good?”

We often think fear means something’s wrong. But in truth, fear is the gatekeeper to your real work....

Memoir writing is hard. Finishing a first draft—whether it took you weeks, months, or years—is a major milestone. But it’s only step one in the long, meaningful process of turning lived experience into a finished manuscript.

Many writers hit this moment and think: Now what? You have thousands of wo...

If you’ve ever struggled to decide where to begin your memoir—or how to include important backstory without confusing your reader—you’re not alone. Memoir writing isn’t a straight line. Life doesn’t unfold neatly from birth to now, and neither should your story.

That’s where flashbacks come in.

A ...

Writing a memoir is a bit like hiking a mountain you’ve never climbed before. At first, you’re filled with energy and excitement. The air feels fresh, the view is full of possibility. But as the path winds upward, you hit rocky sections. The climb gets steeper. You may even wonder if you’ve lost you...

Let’s be honest—writing a memoir takes more than passion and a good story. It takes rhythm, reflection, and regular course correction. The end of each quarter is the perfect moment to pause, check in with your progress, and get back on track. Although you can reset your writing goals at any point du...