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memoir writing

Summertime Inspires Writers!

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You may be reading this from Australia, South America or some other southern hemisphere location, in which case you’re in the middle of winter. But I’m figuring that for most of you, June brings warm weather. The sun is shining and nature’s colors are popping in fruits, flowers and greenery. Summertime is a temptress, always beckoning you outdoors. When will you find time to work on your memoirs?

Early morning is wonderful during the summer months. I hope you have a window that you can open in the room where you write. With just a screen separating you from the entering breeze, you can write in solitude until you’re hungry or you need to be somewhere. The earlier you start, the quieter it will be. Perhaps you can hear birds waking up or the first sounds of a city coming back to life. Maybe the aroma of a bakery’s bread or a honeysuckle vine will find its way into your writing space.

Today’s sights, sounds and fragrances can remind you of what you saw, heard and smelled in an earlier time of your life. That will help you to create vibrant descriptions as you write your memoirs. Think about how an early morning was different for you 20 or 40 years ago. A rush of feeling can return when you let your senses be your guide.

Another Website Offers a “Memoirs??? Type of Catharsis

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Writing your memoirs can be a way to give yourself closure regarding an episode in your life and finally get something “off your chest.??? When you do, are you directing any of that explanation to a specific person?

Yesterday, a column by Barbara Brotman in my hometown’s Chicago Tribune alerted readers to wouldhavesaid.com, a website that invites everyone to post anything they want to put out there, really. Some contributors write to someone who has died, to someone with whom they’ve lost contact or even to themselves or their “younger selves???; others express a thought they cannot bring themselves to say face-to-face to someone; still others write something they wish the world in general to know.

The contributors say that putting their long-held sentiments into words feels cathartic. As you write your memoirs, you may experience a similar catharsis when you picture various people reading your words. Perhaps you’ll express your regret about something you said or did, or you’ll want someone to see how life turned out for you. The writing process itself may bring you all sorts of surprises, relief and, of course, a sense of accomplishment. What I love about setting a goal to write your memoirs is that the benefit comes not only from the wonderful product you’ll have for your friends and relatives, but also from the process of remembering your life and recording it precisely as you want to present it. It just feels so good.

Daughters Persuade a Dad to Write His Memoirs

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While at some point many of us think about writing our memoirs, fewer actually commit to it. I wonder whether a little coaxing from family members is what makes the difference between just thinking about it and actually writing our life story.

Recently I came across a blog called “My Dad’s Memoirs,??? posted nearly three years ago by the daughters of an aging father. The preface begins: “From time to time since my retirement in 1977 (at the age of 60 years) it has been suggested to me by family and friends that I might commit to paper some of the stories of my life. This I have now decided to do, so that my grandchildren, at least, may be given an insight into a few of the many interesting experiences which have come my way over the years.???

The writer, a Scottish gentleman, proceeds to write 15 chapters detailing his early life and his war experiences before wrapping up with some more current tales. He skips much of what came in between; it’s not necessary to write parts of your life you find uninteresting or don’t care to share with readers. In this case, the author stuck to those memories that provided enjoyment in the process of retelling. I think that’s valid. If you’ve had a rocky marriage, a distasteful job or a difficult illness, for example, you can write a memoir that simply omits the unpleasant chapters of your life. Write about whatever you want. This is your story to tell, no one else’s.

Will Your High School Writing Class Help You in Writing Memoirs?

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For many people who sit down to write memoirs, the last time they had an important writing assignment was back in high school. So you may find yourself struggling to recapture lessons you learned in English class when you were just a teen. Even if you attended college and wrote papers for courses there, you may have trouble recalling the writing principles you learned that many years ago.

So let me refresh your memory. Typically, young students learn to write in a formula that requires each paragraph to start with a “topic sentence??? followed by three sentences that support that topic. The next step is to shape that topic sentence so that it doubles as a transition from your last paragraph’s topic to the new topic.

This construction is adequate for new writers, and the grammar you learned will serve you well. But to develop any sophistication in your writing, sooner or later you’ll have to abandon strict adherence to any formula. Once you do that and allow your instincts to guide you, you’ll discover your own writing style. Your paragraphs will be more varied and, therefore, more interesting to read. Your sentences will flow harmoniously, losing the staccato feel that characterizes formulaic writing. This assignment you’ve given yourself—writing your memoirs—comes from the heart of an adult who’s had a lifetime of experiences, so don’t fall back too much on what you learned in high school.

When Writing Memoirs, Don’t Let Verb Tenses Make You Tense!

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I’d like to discuss verb tense because it confuses many people, and I don’t want it tripping you up as you write your memoirs. Most likely, you’re writing your autobiography in the past tense: “I was born…went to school…accepted a job.??? As much as you can keep it that simple, you should be fine. But sometimes you want to express a more complicated time sequence. Past perfect and past perfect progressive are two other tenses you may find yourself needing.

The past perfect tense conveys action that took place before another action that also happened in the past. You form it with the word “had.??? An example: “I had intended to go to college, but when the war started I decided to sign up instead.??? You intended to go to college before you changed your mind, so you need the “had intended??? construction.

The past perfect progressive tense is similar but uses the “…ing??? form of the verb preceded by “had been.??? Example: “I had been enjoying my time at home raising my children, but when the youngest entered high school I thought it was time to go back to earning a paycheck.??? Again, this indicates a past action that preceded another past action, but the difference is that it was an ongoing action—in this case, the act of enjoying. From time to time I will give you these grammar tips, and I hope this helps you as you write your memoirs.

Google Can Be a Resource for Memoir Writers

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In a blog last month, I suggested various websites to help you in any research you need to support your memoirs and check facts against your memory. Along those lines, I’d like to refer you to an article by Simon Mackie on webworkerdaily.com that offers tips on using Google for easy research. For memoir writers, A very relevant suggestion from this article is to use Google to research a specific topic within a time frame. “Say, for example, you want to look for information about Olympic events that took place in the 1950s,??? Mackie writes. “You could use this search: Olympics 1950..1960.???

I use many of Mackie’s “top ten??? myself. One way I constantly use Google is to check spelling. Start inserting a word or name, and it will finish what you’ve started and suggest topics with that term—spelled correctly. It’s so quick! I look for phone numbers by putting in the name of the company or person with the area code, and Google finishes the number for me. Currency conversions and finding out what time it is anywhere in the world are other handy Google applications.

This article points out that Google has a calculator, which I didn’t know. Just type in your math problem and push enter, and your answer will appear. If you find more ways to use Google and other common websites as you write your life story, we’d appreciate your sharing your insights with all the members of WriteMyMemoirs. Just reply to the blog right here!

Use the WriteMyMemoirs Site in a Classroom or Other Group Setting

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Across the United States and probably the world, courses are offered regularly to help people write memoirs. High school and college English classes also sometimes assign a project that involves autobiography writing. Less formally, groups get together to encourage each other in this endeavor and read the work aloud for a critique from group members.

To get students/participants started, some of these classes and groups use WriteMyMemoirs for online assistance. It helps to keep everyone focused and, of course, the work never gets lost and everyone can access it from any Internet-connected computer. There are no excuses like, “My dog ate my homework???! With so many ideas on the site, the writers stay motivated and easily come up with topics for their chapters.

If you’re participating in a group of this type or taking a writing class, we’d love for you to suggest WriteMyMemoirs as a group sign-up activity. The assignment doesn’t even have to be memoirs, really, since our site is just as handy for writing novels, short stories, essays and journalistic pieces. If your class or group does sign up with us, please drop us a line! We’d enjoy knowing how you’re progressing and perhaps here on the blog we could share your thoughts on the process.

Internet Makes Fact-Checking Your Memoirs Easy

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When you’re writing your life story, you want to avoid factual errors, but no one’s memory is reliable and comprehensive enough to fill in every detail. Dates, the exact names of places, the correct spelling of people’s names, the precise distance between cities—these are the types of specifics that you’ll want to get right.

I’m old enough to remember what research used to entail. You’d have to pretty much camp out at your local library for weeks, taking notes and photocopying, in order to research even a small book. Today, from the comfort of home, you can download or copy and paste information right into your computer. There’s just no comparison in terms of efficiency and degree of access.

While it’s usually productive to start with Google and Wikipedia, I can suggest a few other sites that also will help you to fill in the blanks as you write your memoirs:

  • Internet Public Library—it’s just like going through the library stacks except there’s no heavy lifting.
  • Google Archives—creates an automatic time line of historical events involving any topic you choose.
  • MelissaData—lists sites that help you pinpoint locations and find statistical information.
  • Gary Price’s List of Lists—helps you to identify the “top 10??? or “top 100??? of many topics.

Your memoirs are a piece of history! Give them their due by taking the time to research the time period and get your facts straight.

Forget Your Password? Ask the “Memoirs??? Gang for Help!

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From my own online experiences as well as from the email we receive here at WriteMyMemoirs, I understand how easy it is to forget your username or password—sometimes both! We all make mistakes and forget things. When we create a username and password on any website, we try to come up with something simple enough to remember—but also something complex enough that other people won’t be able to figure out. Then if we let even a few days go by without signing onto the account, when we go back to it we may not be able to follow our own trail of thought.

If that happens to you, please just let us know! Click on Contact Us at the top of the page, and ask us to email your username and password. We’re happy to help! Often, the alternative to asking us to retrieve your information is that you just stop coming to the website and give up on writing your memoirs. We certainly don’t want you to do that!

You signed up for a reason: to create a record of your life story. It’s a great goal and something that your children and grandchildren will appreciate. Does it take work? Most things worth having require a commitment and some hard work. Keep your eye on the prize, and don’t let something as simple as forgetting your password stop you from completing this worthwhile achievement. We’re here to help. Just ask us!

Avoid Regrets: Write While You’re Healthy

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Mary Schmich, a columnist for my hometown newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, frequently writes about personal topics, and this past Sunday Mary wrote about her aging mother. Although she no longer can care for herself, Mary’s mother has taken up writing. Mary tells readers: “For a while now, she has been scribbling notes on every kind of paper. Big sheets, little sheets, lined, unlined, white, yellow, blue.??? She has the use of only one hand, which “opens just enough to let a pen slip between her fingers.??? Among the many things the older woman writes are stories from her childhood. At this stage of her life, Mary’s mother feels the need to write her memoirs.

My plea to you is not to wait that long. You have the advantage of knowing how to use a computer, and you probably have the use of both of your hands. Mary found her mother’s legal pad with the heading, “Topics to Write About.??? You don’t need a legal pad; you can keep your topics online here at WriteMyMemoirs. You won’t lose them or forget the topics you wanted to include.

But if you wait too long, like Mary’s mom, all you will have is the topic titles and not the life stories that go with them. You’re here to write your memoirs. Set up a schedule and get them done, because time goes so very quickly.

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Then just set up a chapter and start writing your memoir. Don’t worry about rules. There are no rules to writing your memoir; there are only trends. These trends are based on techniques and features identified in current top-selling memoirs. At best, they’re the flavor of the month. If you’re capturing your life in print for your family, for your own gratification or to inspire readers, rather than aiming to set off Hollywood screenplay bidding wars, these trends don’t even apply to you. You’ll write the memoir that suits you best, and it will be timeless, not trend-driven.There are no rules, but there are four steps:

1. Theme/framework
2. Writing
3. Editing/polishing
4. Self-publishing

You’ve researched this, too, and you’ve been shocked at the price for getting help with any one of those steps, much less all four. That’s because most memoir sites promise to commercialize your work. They’ll follow a formula based on current memoir trends, because they want to convince you that they can turn your memoir into a best-seller. These sites overwhelm you with unnecessary information not to help you, the memoir author, but to address Search Engine Optimization (SEO) algorithms so they can sell more.

That’s not what we do at Write My Memoirs. Our small community of coaches, writers and editors are every bit as skilled as any you’ll find, and we charge appropriately for their expertise and the time they’ll spend helping you craft a compelling, enjoyable read. But you won’t pay an upcharge for other websites’ commercialization, the marketing that follows, and the pages of intimidating “advice.” You can sell your book if you like—we have ISBNs available for you—but our organic process of capturing your story takes a noncommercial path.

If you want help with any or all of the four steps above, choose from our services or save money by selecting one of our packages. If you’d like to talk about what’s right for you, schedule a call. One year from now, you can be holding your published memoir in your hand. And at that point, it will be a big deal!

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