Denis Ledoux's Blog, page 45

4 Tips For Making and Using a Core Memory List to Write More Efficiently

People who attend Turning Memories Into Memoirs workshops 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?”

There is one tool above all others that makes the experience of lifewriting successful.  That tool is the Memory List.  In this article, I will talk about the Core Memory List.

What is a Core Memory List?

The Core Memory List is a list of the crucial relationships and events which have shaped your life. It co...

How to Have a Successful Book Reading–Author Book Reading Tips

A successful book reading requires a little planning upfront.  If you use the following tips, you will have a great book reading and engagement with your audience.

At a recent author book reading, I read from my mother’s memoir, We Were Not Spoiled, to a group of Senior College people. Since the program was offered in Lewiston, Maine, where my family is from, I looked forward to the event because I knew that the space would have many individuals who had known my mother, me or many people in...

Finish Your Memoir–How to pick up and finish your memoir at last

Are you wanting to finish your memoir? How do you pick it up and finish a memoir that you started some time ago? There are writers who stop writing and then do not know how to re-connect to the writing life. Writers who have stopped writing may want to write again, to pick up their memoir, but what has happened is that the train of thought, the feeling, and the sensibility that went into the creation of those previously-written stories have now been lost. They are no longer in that realm...

Is theme important in memoir?

Theme influences choices for every element in the story: plot development, characterization, and setting.

So is theme important in memoir? Let’s look at these elements. Here’s the shell of the plot: your father was laid off; a difficult time followed for the family; your father received additional training and obtained a different job.

Your treatment of this plot will vary according to your theme.

Let’s suppose the following is your theme: “events whose consequences we can’t understand happ...

Write Your Lifestories into Your Photo Albums

Photos are the driving force behind the story told in most albums–no photo, no story. It shouldn’t be
that way!

Your photos are obviously important. They are a terrific visual record—but the photos do not pinpoint the story. They don’t tell the date, don’t tell who was there, don’t tell what happened before or after the photo was taken. You need to write lifestories in your photo albums to complete the ‘picture’.

You need to write your lifestories into your photo albums.

In The Photo Scribe...

Writing with passion! How to Bring Passion into Your Story

Why is writing with passion so hard?

Why does what you want to write become so difficult to do the moment you sit down to write a memoir? Where are the words you need to convey the excitement or the dread or the anticipation of your life experience? After writing a while, you are shocked to realize that what appears on the computer screen has no pizzazz! This drivel is not what you had in mind when you thought with excitement of writing your memoir. So why is writing with passion so hard so...

How do you spend your memoir writing time?

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from  Writer’s Time: Management That Works . This program functions with an open enrollment, and it will be launching on July 13. Discounted registrations are being accepted now.

How do you spend your memoir writing time? Your commitment to your memoir is the engine that will propel your writing to completion. Awareness of how effectively you spend your time—and the increasing skill with which you make use of your time—is the vehicle that will...

Conquer perfectionism when writing your memoir

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from  Writer’s Time: Management That Works . This program functions with an open enrollment, and it will be launching on July 13. Discounted registrations are being accepted now.

It may seem unusual in a program called Writer’s Time: Management that Works to include a module labeled Conquering Perfectionism, but it isn’t. If you want to write your memoir, you will need to conquer perfectionism.

Perfectionism is a big waste of time.

If you want...

Are you procrastinating? Time management tips for writers

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from  Writer’s Time: Management That Works . This program functions with an open enrollment, and it will be launching on July 13. Discounted registrations are being accepted now.

Are you procrastinating? Putting off today’s writing until tomorrow is not an effective process if your goal is to produce a memoir in the foreseeable future.

Why do people opt to procrastinate? I suppose we can’t really say they “opt” as in they make an active decisi...

Prioritize your memoir writing time

Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from  Writer’s Time: Management That Works . This program functions with an open enrollment, and it will be launching on July 13. Discounted registrations are being accepted now.

How do you prioritize your memoir writing time? Time management calls for understanding how you think of yourself and what you are willing to consider as important in your life. It entails becoming conscious of your priorities.

Prioritize your memoir writing time

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