Denis Ledoux's Blog, page 13
June 28, 2022
Memoir vs. Autobiographical Fiction? Which is Best?
The writer owes it to the reader to be honest. My latest YouTube video deals with this topic.
1. Let’s look at autobiographical fiction first. It is plot driven.In autobiographical fi...
June 26, 2022
Writing Feelings into Your Memoir
Recently, David asked in an email about “writing feelings into your memoir,” about writing a memoir that, if I am understanding him right, is not all all details and facts.
Below is my response which can serve as a stand-alone article to help you write your own memoir.
Leave a comment below expressing your experience of writing feelings into your memoir.
—
If I were coaching you, I would frequently ask you: “How did th...
June 23, 2022
Three Pillars of Memoir Writing
Writing a memoir requires a lot of time and energy—but you can do it. You can succeed in writing a memoir. Many people just like you have succeeded in doing so already. Today I am offering you my three pillars of memoir writing.
I want to share a system with you for getting started on writing a memoir. I call it the three pillars of memoir writing.
As with so many projects you might undertake, you can reinvent the wheel or you can plug into a system that has been shown to wo...
June 21, 2022
Writing An Old Family Story
I was one of those fortunate children to have known well both sets of grandparents. My Ledoux grandparents lived upstairs for most of my growing up while by Verreault grandparents lived 10 miles away. Because of this, I’ll admit writing an old family story is somewhat easy for me as I heard so many of them when I was child!
My grandmother Marie Bilodeau Ledoux was the first to leave us. That was almost 60 years ago November 23, 1964.)
The following story is drawn from a booklet I wrote in ...
What would support for writing your memoir look like for you?
No one said that writing your memoir would be easy. If you are like many people, getting support for writing your memoir would be a powerful gift to give yourself.
While some people succeed at writing an interesting and meaningful memoir on their own, the fact is like many people who need both more technical expertise than they now have and more emotional underpinning, you too need support for writing your memoir, for the long effort you are undertaking.
Many people find the task of...
June 18, 2022
A French-Canadian Legacy Podcast with Denis Ledoux
Listen to this podcast on writing memoirs on the French-Canadian Legacy Podcast. Denis Ledoux talks about writing memoirs in general and the memoir he wrote with his mother We Were Not Spoiled.
If you’ve had any interest in writing down your story or someone else’s, this is an amazing episode to listen to.
– Louise Simoneau
Ledoux is currently working on his childhood memoir.
Memories of My Grandfather
My grandfather William Ledoux would be 133 years old were he alive today. I would like to take a moment to honor his life by sharing some memories of my grandfather.
His early yearsHe was born in Lachine, Québec, on February 17, 1889, the oldest of what would be a family of six children. His mother was 20 and his father 19 at the time of his birth. The family moved from Lachine, then a small town, to Montréal when he was quite young. He grew up in Montréal in an apartment on Papineau...
June 17, 2022
Hot Flash Memoir: Family Photo Album
This is how I learned about hot flash memoir.
As I was cleaning out my parent’s house I made all kinds of discoveries. Like most kids (I’m referring to myself here), I never once thought of my parents as people. They were Mom and Dad. What they did before me really never entered my mind. Their life consisted of station wagons, split two-level houses in subdivisions named Spanish Trace, North Village, or Highmill Estates. They were first of all parents, then perhaps golfers or members of th...
June 16, 2022
Meeting My Ancestors in New France
DL: This is an excerpt from Here to Stay an account of the lives of my seventeenth-century ancestors in New France. Everything in the book is factual or a reasonable surmise (and referenced as such).
___
This book is not a history of New France. It is about some of my ancestors who came here to stay. I have provided the story of New France only for the light it casts on my people, and so I have left out large portions of that history.
This book about my ancestors in New France could have b...
Listening to Grief: The Boys Laugh Again
The following story is written by Edwina Carr-Jangarathis a memoir professional who has done considerable writing. We had the pleasure of publishing her book In Their Own Words. We hope you benefit from reading Listening to Grief: The Boys Laugh Again.
Eyes squeezed tightly shut, I listen for the laughter of my two grandsons as I drift on my rubber raft. I’m certain if I’m silent and try hard enough I’ll hear the laughter of the boys again. Glimpses of summer days when we laughed together...
