Making Meaning of Your Memories
Practical tips and insights to uncover and write about the memories that have shaped your life.
Every writer knows the feeling: you finally sit down to write your memoirâŚand then the voice in your head starts up.
âThat sentence sounds terrible.â
 âYou used the word ârememberâ three timesâfix it.â
 âNo oneâs going to want to read this.â
Before youâve finished the first paragraph, youâre delet...
Hereâs one of the biggest reasons why would-be memoir writers stay stuck: They try to sit down and write their entire life story in one go.
No wonder it feels overwhelming. No wonder the cursor blinks on the screen like itâs mocking you.
But hereâs the secret: you donât have to write your whole li...
If youâve been carrying the dream of writing your memoir for years, thereâs a good chance something invisible has been holding you back.
Maybe youâve been waiting for someone to tell you your story matters. Or for the perfect block of time to magically open up in your life. Or for some kind of offi...
 If youâre writing a memoir, youâve probably heard it before: âYou should keep a journal.â But you might be wonderingâwhy bother? Isnât my memoir already doing the work of recording my life?
Not quite.
A journal isnât a rough draft of your book. Itâs something different entirelyâa private space to...
Two weeks ago, I did something radical.
I unplugged.
Not just from email or social media. I unplugged from my job, my routines, my productivity mindset. I stepped away from the day-to-day demands of being a communications director at a research company and gave myself permission to simply beâto ex...
I can still hear the heavy thud of my father coming up the stairs. He was pretending to be a monster. At six years old, those footsteps filled me with a nervous hope. Maybe tonight, my dad was coming to say goodnight to me.
He came into my room as the âtickle monster,â roaring and laughing as I squ...
I waited all day for the Amazon driver to arrive. When the box finally showed up, I tore it open and found the three new books I ordered to add to the memoir Iâve already started for my summer reading. Hereâs what will be on my nightstand for the next couple of months:
You Could Make This Place Bea...
Before you start writing your memoir, thereâs one crucial decision to make that will shape everything else: your premise.
A premise is more than just the summary of your story. Itâs the "big idea" that holds your memoir togetherâthe through line that keeps you focused, your readers engaged, and you...
If youâve ever scribbled thoughts into a notebook after a long day or jotted down a vivid dream before it faded, youâve already begun the practice that many memoir writers swear by: journaling. Iâve been writing in journals most of my life. As an adult, journaling has been one of the most practical ...
Thereâs something about springâmaybe itâs the longer days or the fresh breeze through open windowsâthat makes us want to tidy up. But spring cleaning isnât just for your closet or kitchen. If you're writing a memoir, this is the perfect season to clean up your creative process, too.
Memoir writing ...
Writing about your faith for the first time can feel like standing on the edge of something tender and holy. You have a storyâa moment of awakening, a stretch of wilderness, a quiet transformationâand something in you wants to put words to it. Maybe itâs for your journal. Maybe for your memoir. Or m...
You know the feeling.
You're standing in a room full of half-unpacked boxes, random objects scattered everywhereâa lamp on the floor, papers in piles, a chair draped in laundry, and zero idea where your water bottle went.
Welcome to Scattered Brain Syndrome.
Okay, itâs not an official diagnosis, ...
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