Denis Ledoux's Blog, page 35
May 2, 2019
How to be a Better Storyteller
Some people come to memoir writing with a natural facility for storytelling. If that is you—great! But…
Don’t despair if you aren’t one of these natural storytellers. To a great extent, storytelling is a facility which can be learned—you can acquire this facility. It’s a matter of developing both technical skills to shape a story and a belief in yourself as capable of growth and of assuming your rightful role as storyteller.
In this YouTube video, “How to be a...
April 30, 2019
From the Memoir Writer’s Experience
Congratulations to author Dennis Blue! He has received the 2019 Christian Indie Award in the business category for
Through the Eyes of a Fisherman
. Dennis is truly one of those authors who is a pleasure to work with. He brought much thoughtfulness to bear on his task and we are so proud to see his efforts rewarded.
I recently had the opportunity to interview him about his experience writing his recent books, Running the Good Race and Through the Eyes of a Fisherman – DL
Talking with De...
April 25, 2019
Why we write stories
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 telling (and listening to) all of these stories? Obviously, stories entertain us, but our need to be entert...
April 23, 2019
Better Than Writing Prompts – Five Tips for Creating a Memory List
People who are writing a memoir will sometimes say, “I want to write my stories but I have forgotten so many details. Is there any way I can get them back? Should I use writing prompts?”
There is one tool above all others that makes the experience of life writing successful. That tool is not a writing prompt: it is the Memory List. No other exercise opens up the process of life writing as quickly and as surely as the thoughtful and thorough compilation of such a li...
April 18, 2019
Use This Instead of a Writing Prompt
A writing prompt in my estimation lead to nothing. I’m not a great fan of a writing prompt. Sure, it gets you to writing something. And many people will insist writing something is better than writing nothing. Well, I’m not so sure of that.
Writing should matter. It’s hard work and life is short. What’s better than nothing about writing some text on the “the most fun things I did this summer” as we sometimes had to in school? No wonder we did not learn t...
April 16, 2019
Writing a Non-Fiction Book
A common lament, I hear from writers goes like this, “I wanted a book, and I got off to a good start writing a memoir. I’ve always wanted to write a book, but then I just stopped. I don’t know why.”
What I have sometimes found is that people approach memoir-writing as an easy access to becoming “an author.”
“It’s my life after all,” people say. “I ought to know enough about myself to write a memoir without too much of a problem.”
Well, yes and no. It’...
April 11, 2019
5 Steps to Gathering Stories at Family Events
Gathering stories at family events—interviewing—is one of these basic steps you can master for writing your memoir. Following these basic steps, anyone can succeed at writing interesting and meaningful memoirs.
As a memoirist, you must always double check the information you already have, and seek new material to flesh out your stories. Reunions, weddings, funerals, birthday and holiday celebrations rate well on both of these tasks: scattered relatives, each of whom has a piece of the famil...
April 9, 2019
Four Tips For Moving Your Memoir Plot With Action
Action drives your story and keeps your readers interested. Writing with effective action is the key to creating lifestories that people want to read. Here are four tips for moving your memoir plot with action.
Moving Your Memoir Plot with Action1) The action of your memoir is its plot. Generally speaking, something must happen in your story to retain the interest of your reader. Some people have had roles in the political, economic, cultural life of their times. These people’s lives exhi...
April 4, 2019
6 Easy Steps to Creating a Book of Memoirs
Celebrating and honoring your life by remembering and writing both big and small stories is very rewarding. It is a significant way to understand your life and to come to peace with it. Creating a book of memoirs will leave a legacy your family will treasure for generations–don’t you wish your grandparents had written their memoirs?
Follow these simple writing suggestions and you’ll find the task of preserving your stories is well underway.
1. First,...April 2, 2019
Get More Info From Your Photos–The small details for your memoir are in your photos
“Where do I find more details for my memoir?” you ask. “I remember a lot and I’ve done my Memory List, but where is the small stuff I need to ground my memoir—and possibly provide new insights?”
The answer is in your photos. Get more info from your photos by following these stepsWhen you are working on your memoir, you will find that scrutinizing your photos to be an excellent way of making your story more insightful and interesting.
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