Denis Ledoux's Blog, page 26

Why we write stories that fascinate us

Why we write stories that fascinate us

In the following YouTube video to which I will send you shortly, I write about why stories fascinate us all our lives. As children, we love to listen to bedtime stories. As we grow older, we tell our own stories about what happened at school or at our after-school job. As adults, we often speak in stories and consume stories in the form of novels, movies, TV dramas, and conversations at the grocery store as we wait in line.

What is the meaning of tell...

Working with a Ghostwriter – 3 Ways to Start the Process to Success

Working with a ghostwriter is ultimately a business relationship. No matter how friendly the exchanges, the outcome is that you are paying someone to tell your story. Make sure the process culminates in the book you want.

In working with a ghostwriter as in all business relationships, it is always easiest to take care of business matters at the start of the process. Here are three guidelines to keep in mind when establishing how you and your ghostwriter will collaborate.

1. Is the ghostwri...

What would support for writing your memoir book 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...

Looking for a developmental editor: a novice decides to write a memoir.

In 2018, I decided to gather the bits of information, journals, diaries, court transcripts and the letters from my life and put them into a book. I had never thought of myself as a writer, struggled to see myself as an author and had not a lot of thought about how to embark on such a project. I had a burning desire to help others to see that there is goodness in the world and that there is happiness after hardship and a light at the end of the tunnel. Telling people parts of my story seeme...

Why Developmental Editing? Hint: Do You Want Your Best Memoir?

Does your memoir need developmental editing? In this video, I discuss why developmental editing is essential, what a developmental editor does, and why you need it for your memoir.

If the big New York publishing houses NEVER publish a manuscript without extensive editing, why would you as a self-publisher? A professional editor can quickly and effectively help you tweak your story so that you get to say more clearly and dynamically what you have been trying to say.

Editors come in m...

Does Your Memoir Need Developmental Editing? What Is It?

Does your memoir need developmental editing? In this video, I discuss what developmental editing is, what a developmental editor does, and why you need it for your memoir.

If the big New York publishing houses NEVER publish a manuscript without extensive editing, why would you as a self-publisher? A professional editor can quickly and effectively help you tweak your story so that you get to say more clearly and dynamically what you have been trying to say.

Editors come in many stripes:...

A Memoir Project Manager Helps You Start and Finish Your Memoir

A memoir project manager is someone most people don’t think about when starting their memoirs. People jump into their memoir writing projects without giving the function of project manager much consideration. A manager is someone who gives thought to the execution of the project: organization and timetable and the use of materials.

Succeeding in writing a book of memoirs in an expeditious and meaningful fashion is important. If you dwell in your manager function for even a short while ...

A Project Manager Helps You Start and Finish Your Memoir

A project manager is someone most people dont think about when starting their memoirs. People jump into their memoir writing projects without giving the function of project manager much consideration. A manager is someone who gives thought to the execution of the project: organization and timetable and the use of materials.

Succeeding in writing a book of memoirs in an expeditious and meaningful fashion is important. If you dwell in your manager function for even a short while before you...

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!)

...

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...