Denis Ledoux's Blog, page 76
June 23, 2015
What You Can Do Before You Send a Manuscript To An Editor! [Part One]
I have been a memoir and fiction editor since 1990. In that time, I have worked with hundreds of manuscripts.
Some have come to me requiring only slight tweaking. The texts are nearly ready for publication. The authors have created an interesting and well-crafted piece of writing.
Too many other manuscripts, however, have come at a stage that reflects the I’m-ready-to-have-this-writing-over-with-finally stance of tired writers. Writing can be a long and tedious task after the initial rush o...
June 10, 2015
Why Go to a Writer’s Retreat?
Why would I go away to a writer’s retreat to write when I can write at home, at my very own desk, with my cat and my favorite coffee mug?
1. To be free of distractions
A. I won’t be tempted to put up a load of laundry
B. Are we out of milk?
C. Yes, I am happy with my (long distance service, cable service, internet service, utilities supplier), click.
D. No, I am not available to (feed your cat, take your dog for a walk, pick up your dry cleaning). I AM WRITING!
2. To focus completely on you...
May 28, 2015
My Mother Passes
On this blog, I have frequently offered excerpts of my mother’s memoir, We Were Not Spoiled. It has been such a satisfaction for me to have written her story and to have been able to hand her a copy. One day, after I had presented her with the hard copy of We Were Not Spoiled, she said to me as she held the book, “You spoil me!”
My mother passed on May 5, 2015, of congestive heart failure. She had said she was not afraid of dying, but she didn’t want to die alone. She did not die alone. Her...
May 1, 2015
Who Will Be the Audience for My Memoir?
Writers ask me all the time: “Who will want to read my memoir?” Recently someone said, ”My memoir is probably of no interest to you or anyone else. There is no audience for my memoir!”
Wondering about the available audience for your memoir is legitimate and necessary. At the core of most writing is a deep desire to share with others—to reach an audience. Certainly this is true of a memoir writer also.
This is the challenge: stop thinking that no one will wa...
April 29, 2015
3 Tips for a Better Author Blog
“What do you think of my website?”
It’s one of the questions I hear the most from authors, whether they write memoirs or mysteries.
I wish that my answer each and every time was, “It’s fantastic!”… but it isn’t. And more often than not, the problem is with the site’s blog. Oh, how I wish I had a wand to transfer every writer’s blog into a better author blog.
But let’s pause to distinguish between “blog” and “website,” because many people use them interchangeably.
When I say “blog,” I’m refe...
April 24, 2015
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 22, 2015
3 Stages of Writing a Memoir
In December 2011, I decided to take a trip to my home country, Azerbaijan. I had a property to sell and family to visit there. More importantly, I was on a mission to find my father’s grave. My parents were divorced when I was a mere two-week-old baby. I had never met him. Despite trying to heal this open wound for years, nothing helped. Perhaps finding his grave could bring some closure.
All I k...
April 20, 2015
Should I Create an Outline for my Memoir?
DL: This is a perennial favorite with the search engines. I consider it to be a foundational post whose info can guide you to success. I hope you enjoy the reprint.
A Memory List is far superior to an outline!For some writers, there comes a moment in writing a memoir when the audacity of the undertaking hits them. Perhaps they think doorslammers like: “This can take forever.” “Writing a memoir will never pay for itself.” “I can’t afford to do this!” They reach for certainty. And that certa...
April 17, 2015
Franco-American History and The Lachine Massacre
DL: This excerpt from Here To Stay, an 250-page as-yet- unpublished account of my 17th century Canadian ancestors, is the second most visited post on thememoirnetwork.com site. Who would have guessed? I am re-posting it for those of you who have an historical bent of mind or who might wonder how does a memoir writer write about the distant past. In this post, I refer to my francophone ancestors as Canadiens to distinguish them as a distinct g...
April 15, 2015
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 a writing prompt?”
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 list...
