Denis Ledoux's Blog, page 47
May 31, 2018
Finishing a Memoir—How Do People Get Snagged?
Over the years, I’ve noticed that a lot of people who seek us out at The Memoir Network are not beginners at memoir writing. Many have already composed 5, 10, 15 or more stories or vignettes. These writers have been working on their memoir for a significant length of time but they are spinning their wheels. They are not moving forward and seem to have gotten off what once seemed like a clear path to finishing their memoirs. They are writing a few stand-alone...
May 29, 2018
Listen Up!
Again this week I’m offering something a little different — this post offers you a link to a podcast.
Kansas City-based Amy Woods Butler speaks to Denis Ledoux of the Memoir Network on How to Grow Business as a Memoir Professional. Click here to listen.
“Denis started as a writer of autobiographical fictional. When he shared his stories with audiences, it struck a chord, and the Turning Memories into Memoirs workshop was born…”
May 24, 2018
The Problem With Writing Prompts
This is my issue with writing prompts: they tend to lead to isolated stories, stories that are searching for humor, searching to be shared with a group that is perhaps looking for entertainment. They are not, by and large, searching for meaning lost in the morass of your memory, for mythic god who has thwarted you all this time, for the contact lens that is lost in the grasses of your psyche.
No…
The problem with writing prompts is they lead to stor...
May 22, 2018
The Importance of a Regular Writing Practice
Many people set off to write their memoirs with considerable enthusiasm. Frequently however over the months and years it takes to complete the manuscript, their enthusiasm wanes and the memoir project that had seemed so interesting now begins to bore the writer is soon abandoned. They need to remember the importance of a regular writing practice.
I don’t think there was ever a writer whose interest in a project has not taken a nosedive. What to do?
1. One big aid is to set up a regular writ...
May 17, 2018
The Difference between a Memoir and an Autobiography
The difference between a memoir and an autobiography can be rather minimal—or fairly large. “So what is the difference between a memoir and an autobiography?” you may persist in asking as so many people do.
Practically speaking, for most people, there is no difference. In common speech, the terms are interchangeable. But technically (or perhaps in the historical meaning of the two words), there is a difference between a memoir...
May 15, 2018
How to Finish Your Memoir
I’ve noticed that many people who come to The Memoir Network have already been writing a while. They are not people who are just starting out on the memoir journey. Many have already written 5, 10, 15 or more stories or vignettes. They have been writing for a number of months—sometimes even years—and are concluding that they are spinning their wheels, that they are not producing a book as they so want to do. They realize they are not on the path to...
May 10, 2018
Why are ghostwriters like Hercule Poirot?
This post is a little different — it offers you a link to another blog.
Why are ghostwriters like Agatha Christie’s moustache-twirling detective Hercule Poirot? And how can a writing coach help you with your memoirs? Denis Ledoux shares some of his thoughts on writing and coaching with Oli Rahman of Great Britian. CLICK HERE to read the interview.
May 8, 2018
Write The Stories Behind Your Photos
Did you store away a slew of photos in shoe boxes over the years—and more recently created huge photo files in your computer? (These are perhaps even worse than shoe boxes. At least, photos in shoe boxes are easy to look at vs photos as thumbnails!) Now is the time to write the stories behind your photos.
If your family is like mine, you have photos of people that no one can any longer identify. At best, you might opine “I think that’s someone on my mother’ s side....
May 3, 2018
Five Questions to Check a Memoir Ghostwriter’s References
Hiring a memoir ghostwriter will lead to a long-term relationship. This relationship will cost you money. It will also cost you time and energy. It is reasonable that you want it to function smoothly and well. Of course, you ask the writer for references, but are they reliable? Here are five areas of questions you ought to explore.
1. How much like your own project was the project of the reference(s) your memoir ghostwriter prospect has given you? If the project involved writing an annual b...
May 1, 2018
3 Tips to Help You Write Today and Everyday
All of us struggle to some extent to produce writing content. Writing is often difficult. It takes time and energy—both of which the laws of entropy suggest we ought to preserve.
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.”
All valid but ultimately all excuses. So…
Without beating down on you, let me offer a few writing pr...
