Denis Ledoux's Blog, page 44

3 Tips to Revive and Finish a Memoir—Without Eviscerating Yourself

All of us struggle to some extent to produce writing content that will finish a memoir. Writing is often difficult. It takes time and energy—both of which the laws of entropy suggest we ought to preserve as they are constantly being diminished.

We find many compelling and valid reasons not to write: “the house is a mess”; “I ought to go to the gym while there aren’t many people there”; “my sister and I haven’t talked in a long time.”

Of course, all of these reasons are valid but, ultimately...

Use this instead of a writing prompt…

Writing prompts lead to nothing

As readers of the blog know, I’m 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, 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 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 cont...

5 Memory Recall Tips

Memory recall, or recalling the details of our life stories, can be a challenge. Devising a Memory List (pg. 41 of Turning Memories Into Memoirs) is the first best thing you can do, but if you want additional ideas, here are five memory recall tips for remembering more than you might have thought possible.

Memory recall tips for remembering 1) Make opportunities to talk about the past with people who were there.

Stay clear of nostalgia and sentimentality. Look for facts, try to detect patte...

Vignettes, scenes, and dialogues

Vignettes, scenes and dialogues are at the core of any memoir—your memoir. So how do you write them? How do you fit them into a story? Let’s explore how we can string those short pieces into a story.

Here are some ideas for writing them more quickly and elegantly.

1. Don’t stop to figure out how these vignettes, scenes and dialogues may eventually fit together into a story.

These bits and pieces will accumulate as you recall more and more and continue to write them down. Giving yourself...

Writing A Memoir Is a Statement of a Personal Myth

When you are writing a memoir, you are engaging in a psychic process of re-creating and articulating a statement of a personal myth. Here we will explore how myths can be a wonderful experience in teaching us this process.

Let your personal myths enlighten you

While writing a memoir taps into the writer’s personal myths, writing a memoir itself may be compared to a mythic event. The stories of Prometheus stealing fire from the Olympian gods and of Adam and Eve come to mind.

What does the Pr...

Word Lightning: the Right Word Will Dazzle Your Memoir’s Reader

Is choosing the right word really important in writing a memoir?

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” —Mark Twain

Lightning dazzles the eye. The sky is split open. Sometimes it makes our hair stand on end. A lightning bug, on the other hand, is a small, friendly flicker in our backyards, not enough light to illuminate even the smallest corner.

Mark Twain uses the lightning/lightning bug comparison to ta...

Why Sensory Details Bring A Memoir To Life

Should you emphasize sensory details in your memoir?

Successful stories are full of sensory details (colors, shapes, textures, smells, sounds, flavors. When your stories portray a vivid world (“three sweet-scented roses”) rather than a vague one (“some nice flowers”), you make it easier for readers to take the leap of faith into the world of your writing.

Abstraction kills a story

If your story has abstract and vague wording like “After a while, absence from home made fidelity difficult f...

4 Tips For Easier, Quicker Writing

You can benefit from easier and quicker writing by adapting appropriate habits of composition. Here are four habits for writing your first draft quickly. You would do well to put them into practice. They are easy to implement and the rewards are significant.

1. Start writing your story from anywhere.

The beginning of your story—what appears on the first pages—is generally not the same piece as the one you wrote when you started to write your memoir. That first piece you composed may end up...

Write an Info Book to Grow Your Solo-Preneur Or Memoir Business

If you need help stimulating your small business, it may be worth writing an info book on the product(s) you provide. There are many reasons an independent professional ought to write a non-fiction book that purports to tell the client how to do the very service or product that your company provides.

How an Info Book Can Help You Grow Your Business It can be a source of continuing passive income. As the book sells over the years, you earn cash no matter how well or poorly the rest of the c...

9 Ideas to Help You Finish Your Memoir

When your writing is stalled and you find it difficult to finish your memoir, turn to your writing journal for help. The following are suggestions for what you might ask yourself in your writing journal. They are taken from the How to Write to the End—Eight Strategies to Deal With Writer’s Block, a book on successfully dealing with writer’s block.

9 Ideas to Help You Finish Your Memoir

1. Why did you want to write this memoir in the first place? What was your impetus to tackle this project...