Denis Ledoux's Blog, page 19

Going Up in Flames: My Dream Shop Was Burning to the Ground!

This excerpt is from Business Boy to Business Man,  the memoir of Robert Verreault as told to Denis Ledoux. The memoir was published in 2013.

During the summer, I took a longer supper break and, after returning to the shop — where I had over a hundred and fifty employees — I might stay until the second shift went home at 11. The evening of July 18 was no different.

When
I was young, I used to take care of emergencies at the shop myself, but no
more. My summer camp’s telephone numb...

How to Write A Successful Memoir: Stepping Stones [Part 1]

Today’s guest writer is Marilea Rabasa for whose memoir Stepping Stones I had the pleasure of writing a book blurb. Her story—a journey of self-discovery through the hell of substance use disorder— is a moving one. Today we offer the first half of the email interview we conducted with her. The second half will follow in the next blog publication.

Marilea Rabasa in conversation

Denis Ledoux: Can you tell our readers what your book is about and why you were impelled to write it? What...

Write a memoir: practical how-to information to ace it.

Over the years, I have both worked with people to help them write a memoir and have heard from people who have done the work of writing theirs.

Often these people had never written anything before—not memoir, not fiction, not creative non-fiction. They did not think of themselves as writers. One day these people—as you are now doing—decided it was time to write a memoir. They set about to compose a lasting record of their personal and family stories in writing.

I admire their efforts very ...

November 30: Set a Timeline for Finishing Your Memoir

The use of a timeline for finishing your memoir will both speed up the writing process and assure that you complete your book. It is possible, of course, to choose to write a memoir so that it takes you forever to complete it. You can write when you feel like it for as long as you feel like it and get it done whenever you get it done. Too often, that’s NEVER!

A timeline will help with finishing your memoir

Your book is very likely to remain in a computer file unless you set a timeline for ...

November 27: Add Direct Dialog in a Memoir

Adding direct dialog in a memoir or indirect dialog–what’s the difference? There are two ways characters can speak in a story. One way is called direct dialog. When you write she asked, “How are you doing today?” you are using direct dialogue.  Direct dialogue requires quotation marks. When you use direct dialogue in a memoir you are saying this is actually what the speaker said. This is different from indirect dialog.

Direct dialog in a memoir adds the sound of a character

Indirect dialog...

November 26: Where Is the Hero’s Journey In Your Memoir?

Have you thought of yourself as being on the hero’s journey in your memoir? Perhaps you have never thought of yourself as a hero—but in fact, you are one. It is the energy of your hero’s journey that has impelled you to write a memoir. Every memoir tells the story of a hero’s journey. It is the story of how the main character (usually you) was beset by difficulties and has survived. In short, every memoir is necessarily a hero’s journey.

Depict the hero’s journey in your memoir

Look at it ...

November 25: Using Photos in Your Memoir

Are you using photos in your memoir as writing prompts? I have already written about how the memory is false, flattering, and faulty. I’ve also offered you one possibility for correcting this. That is the use of the memory list, the journal, and other artifacts.

Using photos in your memoir helps you remember details

Today, I would like to offer you another opportunity to assist those false, flattering, and faulty memories. That is using photos in your memoir.

This is not, of course, a new ...

November 24: How To Find Stories Missing in Your Memoir

Are there stories missing in your memoir? In some way, writing a memoir is like organizing an anthology of stories. In the method that I teach in my workshops, tele-classes, and coaching, writers write stories as stories come to them.

Start with the story you want to write

I am not a great one for starting to write from the beginning and writing to the end. Instead, I encourage writers to write the stories they most feel impelled to write. The initial result is an often-chaotic collection...

November 23: Listening to Your Memoir Yields Dividends

Listening to your memoir yields dividends. As writers, we have often experienced writing what we deem to be deathless prose. Later, perhaps a week or a month later, when we pick up our own manuscript again, we realize that our deathless prose is perhaps closer to deadly prose.

Hearing your memoir read aloud makes your writing better

Having your story read out loud is a revealing experience. Whether it is someone else who is reading or you yourself, it seems that you become a much more obje...

November 22: The Power of Using Specific Words in A Memoir

Using specific words in a memoir enables you to write a story with details that establish character and setting. Concentrate on nouns and verbs and discard any adjectives or adverbs that aren’t specific to the description, and your memoir will pull your reader in.

Use specific words to improve your writing

For some reason, many writers feel that adjectives give details to their story.  They think of them as specific words. This may be true of some adjectives such as American or red. The sa...