Set Your Timer, Then Just Go

You've scheduled your writing time. Good. Now here's the tool that will do more for your memoir than any fancy notebook or writing app ever could: a plain, ordinary timer.

Set it for 15 to 30 minutes—whatever length you committed to when you scheduled your session. Then start it, put your fingers on the keyboard or pen to paper, and don't stop moving until it goes off.

The timer does something surprisingly powerful: it removes the pressure of the infinite blank page. You're not staring down "write my life story," an impossibly large task with no visible end. You're just writing until a bell rings. Anyone can do that.

Try to type or write as continuously as you can for the whole session. Don't pause to search for the perfect word. Don't stop to reread what you just wrote. If you get stuck, write about being stuck—"I don't know what to say next" is a perfectly valid sentence to type while you wait for the next thought to arrive. It almost always does.

Most writers are surprised by how fast the time goes once they stop fighting it. What felt like an intimidating commitment turns into something you can complete—and even look forward to—because it has a clear beginning and end.

There's also a satisfaction that comes from keeping this kind of promise to yourself. When the timer goes off, and you've written continuously for the whole session, you get to close your laptop knowing you did exactly what you set out to do. That feeling compounds. It's what turns "I'm trying to write a memoir" into "I'm a person who writes."

So tomorrow, when your scheduled writing time arrives, don't overthink it. Set the timer. Start typing. Let the bell tell you when you're done.

Want more tips to help you get your memoir started? Download my free guide, The Memoir Writing Quick-Start Guide.