Denis Ledoux's Blog, page 26

Use This Instead of Writing Prompts

Writing prompts lead to nothing.

As readers of the blog know, Im not a great fan of using a writing prompt. Sure, they get you to writing something and many will insist, Writing something is better than writing nothing

Well, Im not so sure of that. Writing should matter. Its hard work, and life is short. Whats better than nothing about writing some text on the most fun things I did this summer? as we sometimes had to in school. (No wonder we did not learn to write while in that context!)

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Who Are You Writing For?

I want to my children and grandchildren to know me, and I want to place my life in a greater context. Im hoping to have readers beyond my kin, readers who are interested in a larger picture of what life was, a memoirist will realize.

Let me share a shocking truth: your memoirand minewill not appeal to everyone in the world. It is likely to appeal only to a small niche group, but given that there are a billion people in the world who read English, the small group may be large enough to...

Whom Are We Writing For?

I want to my children and grandchildren to know me, and I want to place my life in a greater context. Im hoping to have readers beyond my kin, readers who are interested in a larger picture of what life was, a memoirist will realize.

Let me share a shocking truth: your memoirand minewill not appeal to everyone in the  world. It is likely to appeal only to a small niche group, but given that there are a billion people in the world who read English, the small group may be large enough to...

Who Will Be the Audience for My Memoir?

Writers ask me all the time: “Who will want to read my memoir?” Recently someone said, ”If I were to write my memoir, it would probably be of no interest to you or anyone else. There is no audience for my memoir!”

Your memoir has a niche audience.

Wondering about the available audience for your memoir is legitimate and necessary. At the core of the effort most writers commit to is a deep desire to share with others—to reach an audience. Certainly this is true of a memoir writer also.

This...

Three Ways an Inauthentic Memoir Theme Will Trip You Up

As you articulate your memoir theme, ask yourself if this memoir theme is really yours—does it reflect your present understanding of your story and of life itself? Or is it is a residue of the accepted “wisdom” of someone else: a parent, another adult figure, society at large?

1) A theme that is authentically yours makes for better writing.

It comes from your center of experience. Writers who recognize, acknowledge, and explore their authentic memoir themes in their writing are more apt to...

How Long Does It Take to Write a Memoir?

Sometimes, years after I’ve heard from someone that he is writing a memoir, I will connect with the writer again. Perhaps it’s three or four or five years later, but the writer is working on the same memoir. I don’t get it. So I ask politely, “What has snagged the memoir?” In short…

How long does it take to write a memoir? Really? Well, I don’t actually know the answer to “how long does it take to write a memoir?” What I know is a memoir needn’t take so long to compose.

Why do some memoirs...

Too Much Backstory–Are you making memoir writing more difficult than necessary?

How much backstory is too much? Today we will discuss how to avoid too much backstory in your memoir.

I hope this is not you…

You are memoir writing about a time when you—alas—got fired from your job. As you write about this, you throw in your college studies, how much you loved your major and how eager you were for the workplace. Then you go on to write about the catty politics of the office from which you got fired. You even throw in a vignette about your boss’s spouse who came onto you...

Using a Memoir Ghostwriter – Three Doubts You Needn’t Let Stop you

Is hiring a memoir ghostwriter a good idea?

You’ve lived a life which you feel merits a memoir. Perhaps you’ve risen from poverty to riches, perhaps you have done a “first” and you want people to know it was you, or perhaps you want to celebrate a lost world, a world that have since disappeared. Should you write yourself or should you use a memoir ghostwriter?

You try your hand at writing but you realize that it is too difficult and that the learning curve is too steep. Perhaps you have...

Five Ways to Save on Ghostwriting Fees

There are Ways to Save on Ghostwriting Fees

Finding ways to save on ghostwriting fees can be pressing when the story needs to be told but you have to cut costs. Hiring a ghostwriteror co-author is, no questions about it, an expensive proposition.

There are ways, however, to cut the costs by doing some of the work yourself. Before doing that work, however, you would do well to ask the writer you have hired about how to turn the work in in a format that s/he can most readily make use of. Here...

Working With a Memoir Ghostwriter – Six Tips

Get the most out of working with a memoir ghostwriter

What a relief to have finally decided to start working with a memoir ghostwriter. The future of your relationship will depend, however, on how well and clearly you agree on the financial and procedural aspects of your collaboration. Be sure you come to agreement on the following topics.

1. Work ought to be performed by the hour rather than by the project.

While it is tempting to choose a per project fee, a project-fee arrangement is a...