Denis Ledoux's Blog, page 17

What makes you into a writer?

What makes you into a writer? Is it publication? Is it writing income? Is it declaring you are a writer?

Does saying you are a writer make you into a writer? Well, of course, the answer is no. Not ipso facto. Thirty-five or so years ago when my wife said, “When people ask you what you do, why don’t you tell them you are a writer instead of telling them you are a teacher? You are always writing. It’s how you think of yourself instead of as a high school teacher.” But, I did not feel comfor...

Should You Create an Outline or a Memory List for your Memoir?

DL: An outline or a Memory List? This is a perennial favorite with the search engines. I consider it to be a foundational post whose info can guide you to success. I hope you enjoy it.

A Memory List is far superior to an outline!

For some writers, there comes a moment in writing a memoir when the audacity of the undertaking hits them. Perhaps they think doorslammers like: “This can take forever.” “Writing a memoir will never pay for itself.” “I can’t afford to do this!” They reach for cer...

Five Questions to Ask the References of Your Memoir Ghostwriter

Working with a memoir ghostwriter can bring you great joy as you collaborate to produce the book you have so long dreamed of. On the other hand, it can be a nightmare. Here are five questions to ask the references your memoir ghostwriter has given you about working with him or her. Was the memoir ghostwriter able to meet deadlines?

1. Was the memoir ghostwriter able to meet deadlines?

Deadlines can be intermediate such as the pace of writing (50 pages a month) or when the draft copy is due...

Shaping Your Theme

It is important to spend some time shaping your theme as the theme is the message—the why—of your writing.

You imbue the whole of your story with your theme, and it, in turn, influences the choice of every element in your story—even when you’re not aware of it. In fact, all writing carries a message from the writer, an index of the motivation of the artist. Theme can be as broad as “There are good guys and bad guys, and you can tell them apart” and as subtle as “I want to tell others what...

Successful Memoir Writing – Tips to Help You Write

Successful Memoir Writing: 3 Tips

Recently, someone asked me what are the biggest barriers memoir writers face to successful memoir writing. Three came to mind right away. Below, I write about them and offer suggestions for eliminating these barriers.

1. Writers often put off writing a good memoir in favor of struggling unsuccessfully to create a perfect one.

This is insidious because no one says they are putting off writing a good memoir in favor of a perfect one. Instead they say, “I w...

Tips for Successful Memoir Writing

Tips for Successful Memoir Writing

Recently, someone asked me what are the biggest barriers memoir writers face to successful memoir writing. Three came to mind right away. Below, I write about them and offer suggestions for eliminating these barriers.

1. Writers often put off writing a good memoir in favor of struggling unsuccessfully to create a perfect one.

This is insidious because no one says they are putting off writing a good memoir in favor of a perfect one. Instead they say, “I ...

The Importance of Facts in Memoir Writing

The importance of facts in memoir writing

The importance of facts in memoir writing such as dates, addresses, names, and relationships, are one of its special feature.

Memoir writing cannot, without deleting from its value, omit dates and specific identification of locales, names of individuals and their relationships to one another. Memoir writing is factual writing: hence the importance of facts. A memoir without these facts is like a map without route numbers. Whether I know the people...

Lightning Bug Words

Are You Using Lightning Bug Words?

A lightning bug is a small, friendly flicker in our backyards, not enough light to illuminate even the smallest corner. On the other hand, lightning dazzles the eye. The sky is split open. Sometimes it makes our hair stand on end. In this piece, we look at the difference between lightning words and lightning bug words.

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”  — Mark Twain

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Writing Time Wasters

Writing Time Wasters Do Not Elude Me

I’m no more immune than anyone else to the plague of time wasters. Time wasters are habits we fall into that consume the time we have allotted (or could allot) to writing so that we end up not writing! Here are some of the most insidious that take up too much time and squander my writing energy.

1. Checking on e-mail before I begin to write for the day.

Either it takes up a lot of time as I read through the e-notes or I come across an e-mail that gets m...

Where Do You Begin Writing Your Memoir?

Is there a best place to begin writing your memoir?

It’s a quandary: where do you begin writing your memoir? Many people may say: from the beginning. But, I don’t think that is the best place to start composing.

The answer is actually quite simple: Start writing your memoir from anywhere in the story.

Start from where you feel like writing about on any given day and keep writing as long as you wish to do so. Then, if the topic ceases to interest you and you would like to write about someth...