Your Story Matters!
Memoir Writing Instructor Answers Your
Questions
Every
life is made up of stories—some are deliriously happy tales, others are
devastatingly sad, and our life experiences represent every imaginable kind of
emotion in between. We all have
family history and life stories, and the sad truth is that if we do not
preserve them, they are permanently gone. There is no rewind. There is no going
back to capture them.
Q7. I would love to write my
memoirs, but I have no time in my schedule. How do I squeeze in writing time?
A7. I have
two tips that should be extremely helpful to you.
Tip #1-Commit to the project with a positive
attitude! Rather than dwelling on excuses as to why you CANNOT,
concentrate on determination that you CAN. Don’t give into procrastination
syndrome. Focus on providing a priceless written legacy that only
you can produce. I always emphasize that it is important not only to
write facts and dates, but also your
feelings about those events. Your feelings are the HEART of the stories, and the heart is what makes your
memoirs more relatable to the reader.
No one else can convey your personal perspective except you. It
is entirely up to you to be certain that your family history and significant
stories are not forever lost. You need to make a firm commitment to move
forward. Remember that your completed memoir project may just serve as
inspiration to other descendents to continue
the tradition of recording your family’s stories.
Tip #2-Once firmly
committed, make a realistic
evaluation of your schedule. Are there particular days of the week when
you have fewer pressing obligations? Take a look at your calendar. We schedule
all important appointments,
right? Schedule your writing time. If Tuesday is a quiet day on the calendar,
schedule it as your writing day. If you tell yourself, “I’ll write when I have
time,” it may never happen. That old procrastination syndrome will surely
overtake your good intentions.
If
you operate well with a specific goal,
give yourself one. It could be a target of one
story per week, or perhaps a specific
word count or number of pages
per week. It could be “x” number of
stories written within a six month period. Whatever works for your
schedule is a good goal. Remember that if you write a 3 to 5 page story of a different memory each week, you will
have a 150 to 200 page book at the
end of one year.
In
one of my workshops, a lady in attendance inquired, “What if I schedule my
writing time, and when it comes to that particular day I don’t feel inspired to
write?” It certainly is a legitimate question. Perhaps for memoir writing, reviewing
old photos, diaries or journals when the inspiration factor is elusive will
bring the writer into the desired zone of focus and motivation. There are no
guarantees or easy fixes, however. We will elaborate further on this topic of
beneficial memoir writing tools in a future blog post.
Location can also be a
factor. Personally, I have to write in a quiet place where I am uninterrupted
by telephones, the temptation to check email, Facebook or Twitter, or my dear husband
asking me where some item is located or wanting me to see something he is watching
on television.
I
have two favorite writing places:
1-There
is a church in our town that has a rear parking area which overlooks a scenic, marsh-covered
inlet. It is a peaceful spot, and the only potential interruptions are when my
attention is snagged by a passing boat, kayaker, paddle boarder or pelican. In
the summertime, I can bring a chair and sit in the small lawn area provided. In
the wintertime, I simply sit in my car to read or write. The view is
spectacular, and the solitude invites creativity.
2-I
am fortunate enough to live no more than ten minutes from an amazing South
Carolina beach. I lather up with sun screen, sit in my beach chair, gaze out at
the rolling waves, and the words begin to flow from my pen to the paper. If I
am attempting to do some serious writing, I bring my beach chair far away from
the busy entrance area and set up in a more remote location. It makes me feel
as though I am relaxing on my own private island. If I am just brainstorming, I
enjoy sitting where there are multitudes of people to watch and love to jot
down characteristics or perhaps even bits of conversation that I can add to my
list of interesting observations that could potentially end up in a book.
You
may need to experiment to find your favorite writing places. So find a location
for writing where you will be uninterrupted,
comfortable and inspired. Set your writing goals. Then you are ready to
dive in!
Your
stories are a priceless legacy!
Mary Anne Benedetto is the owner of A Writer’s
Presence, LLC, a writer, speaker, blogger, Certified Lifewriting Instructor, and
an affiliate teacher with the The Memoir Network. Author of 7 Easy
Steps to Memoir Writing: Build a Priceless Legacy One Story at a Time!, she
offers beneficial tips, hints and critical steps in memoir writing in order to
remove the “overwhelmed” factor in memoir projects.
E-mail: maryabenedetto@gmail.com
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