Denis Ledoux's Blog, page 37
February 26, 2019
How Long Should It Take to Write a Memoir? Set a Deadline!
Have you ever wondered, “How long should it take to write a memoir?”
One answer, of course, is that it takes as long as it takes. While so true, this answer is not useful to those writers who are trying to get their duckies in line—looking at where the time is in their schedules to write, knowing what support to ask from their life partners, etc.
I’ve come up with a calculation for those people who want some sense of how long writing a memoir might take. The...
February 21, 2019
Is Memoir Fiction?
I emphatically don’t agree that memoir is fiction. Although a memoir invariably uses fiction techniques—and we will look at one in this post, it must be an as-much-as-possible true accounting of an experience.
A strength of fiction is its ability—when it is done right—to place us in the story, to enable us to get out of our “present” and enter into the time of the story. The memoir writer has to aim for the same level of involvement.
In many cases, this involves removing...
February 19, 2019
Is Theme in a Memoir The Driving Force?
Theme in a memoir is absolutely important!
Here’s is a distinction between a family-focused autobiography and a memoir that, I hope, will help you to appreciate the value and the role of theme in your memoir.
First: a reminder of definitionsPeople are always wanting to know the difference between an autobiography and a memoir.
An autobiography is about a whole life—birth to the present. Your kids will love your autobiography. The public may not. Genera...February 14, 2019
The Wrong Point of View in a Memoir Can Throw the Story
In 1996 and 1997, I composed about 200 pages of a memoir of my high school years and then it wasn’t going anywhere more than where it had been—mired in facts and details with no spirit.
I merely stored it in various computers for years.
In the fall of 2013, I completed my mother’s memoir (We Were Not Spoiled). Because I was looking for a writing project I might devote myself to next, I picked up the high-school memoir.
(Lest you think that...
February 12, 2019
Word Usage
Every once in a while, I send you a few of my verbal pet peeves. Here are a few other unfortunate phrases that have come my way recently.
1. Amazon just today was offering me a “free gift.” Awfully good of them to make gifts free. It’s a rather innovative concept—don’t you think?
2. There was also a case I came across of “first introduction.” I wish people would skip the first introductions and go immediately into the second introductions. We are so busy the...
February 7, 2019
Don’t Wait: Continue to Write Your Memoir Today
—Phil Cousineau in Stoking the Creative Fires
The Phil Cousineau quote above ought to be for all of us a stirring call to continue—or to begin if that is where we are at—the writing we may have procrastinated about for so long. We fill our days with lesser tasks when we know that what we ought to be doing is writing a memoir.
It is later than...
February 5, 2019
Hemingway’s “One True Sentence” Can Save Your Memoir
I have found the “one true sentence” to be very effective in focusing both my own memoir writing and in the writing of people I have coached and edited. Hemingway’s one true sentence is an effective tool for better writing.
How a “one true sentence” works
Every piece of writing—-whether a book or a section of a book–contains a sentence that encapsulates what the piece is either trying to say or avoiding saying. This is called the “one tru...
January 31, 2019
A First Step to Becoming a Disciplined Writer
Do you struggle with becoming a disciplined writer on a regular basis and do you wish you could be more focused? Do you ask yourself, “Why is it so hard to write when I really do want to write?”
You have to opt for becoming a disciplined writerThe good news is that while it may be hard at first to write, getting on a schedule can make it easier by the day. That’s right: a commitment to writing on schedule may be the clincher you need to succeed...
January 29, 2019
Is Your Memoir Silenced by the Fear of Insignificance?
From my own memoir-writing experience and from witnessing the creation experience of memoir writers I have coached, I have found it useful to work with a subcategory of fear as a writing block. Many of us have been silenced by the FEAR OF INSIGNIFICANCE.
Difference between fear of insignificance and fear of mediocrityIt’s a close fear to mediocrity but clearly different. Fear of mediocrity is perhaps about the writing itself—style, vocabul...
January 24, 2019
Basics of Book Design
I recently received a request for printing information from a reader who asked: I am getting ready to print my memoirs. I’m using Word and trying to figure out what typeface and type size to use. Also, what are the best margins to use? Are there any sources which might provide suggestions?
Here is what I wrote back in response to the basics of book design:You must provide enough information in your note for me to reply to you with any precision about basic...
