Writers often underestimate the number of drafts they’ll need to write, edit, and rewrite to get them from their first draft to a fully formed manuscript. In Part 1 of this blog post, I offered a snapshot of what to expect for your first and second drafts, and the key objectives of these phases in t...

Writers commonly underestimate the effort required to complete a book. You get inspired to write about your life, then sit down and start pecking at the keys, letting your passion and vision of a published bestseller drive your word count.

Then reality sets in. You stare at the screen wondering wha...

A premise is the foundational idea or central theme that drives your memoir—a single sentence that captures the essence of the story you want to tell. Your premise serves as the guiding light that shapes the narrative, ensuring coherence and focus throughout the writing process.

Crafting a clear an...

My brother and his wife bought the childhood home where my five siblings and I grew up. Whenever I visit, I feel a flood of memories. I can visualize life in our modest-sized house with eight people crammed around the dinner table, vying for space in front of the basement TV, battling over whose tur...

Everyone who embarks on a journey to write their memoir inevitably hits a wall. You have a dream of telling a slice of your life story, but you meet resistance—a too-full calendar, kids who need your full-time attention, a day job that saps your energy and leaves you too tired to write your tale. We...

Many people worry they don't have enough time to write a memoir. Life is busy and finding time to write can be challenging. However, writing a memoir doesn't have to be a full-time job. Even if you only have a few minutes each day, you can make progress by setting a daily writing goal and sticking t...

My index finger hovered over the ‘send’ button for several seconds. I rechecked my document one more time. Was it good enough to ship off to my editor? This was the first draft of a small book project, and though I had given it my best, I wasn’t confident it would be on par with what other writers s...

Several years ago, I trained for my first marathon. I wasn’t a runner when I signed up for my first race, so I spent months following a training plan to literally get me up to speed.

I hated that plan. I hated the daily runs. I would curse under my breath at the start of every training run. But the...

Last year I was working on a memoir project with a client. Every couple of weeks we’d meet to discuss various aspects of their life related to the story they wanted to tell. I’d record our sessions and have them transcribed so we could assemble all the pieces of their life into one full narrative. E...

The hardest part about writing a memoir is getting your first draft done. I know this because I spent about five years tinkering with my first draft. You start with energy and good intentions. You commit to writing every day. But as time goes on, you start to lose focus. What was I trying to write a...

Writing a memoir is hard work, especially if you're struggling to remember some of the most pivotal moments in your life. If you’re having a hard time accessing key memories and sensory details of past events, writing prompts can help unlock the past and deepen your memoir writing.

What Are Writing...

I was sitting at a picnic table, eating food cart pierogies, minding my own business. I wasn’t even thinking about my memoir. Suddenly, a thought intruded out of nowhere: What if people don’t think the trauma I write about in my memoir is that big of a deal?

I put my fork down. That’s it—the thing ...