Post #21 – Women’s Memoirs, News – Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett
We’ve put together our list of New Year’s Resolutions for Memoir Writers, and hope they will help you have a successful twelve months of writing. Here’s our offer. You take your memoir writing seriously and we’ll keep giving you:
(1) Great interviews with memoir authors who will help to motivate you,
(2) Writing prompts that may get you over a stumbling spot or just give you a new idea for a memoir vignette,
(3) Memoir book reviews to help you choose books to read and to learn from,
(4) Memoir vignettes in the form of KitchenScraps that will provide food for thought and recipes to try,
(5) Book business ideas so that you are prepared for the publishing and marketing aspects of memoir writing,
(6) News and announcements that might provide you with information to help you keep moving forward,
(7) And new content — new guest bloggers, new family memoir content (beginning in May), and more.
Join us in 2010 and consider adopting the following list as your Memoir Writer’s New Year’s Resolutions:
1. Dream big. Close your eyes and imagine your life as a movie. Far fetched? Not really. Movies are good models for memoir writers. A movie only covers a limited amount of time, has a focus, involves action and dialogue, features well-defined characters. If you can’t see your memoir unfold like a movie, then perhaps you are trying to include too much.
2. Plan well. Now that you have seen your memoir on the big screen of your mind, it’s time to plan how to get it there. You need to act. Well, to be more specific, you need to write. Plan your time. If you are in a writers’ group, don’t wait until the night before your class. Write regularly. Rather than making a vague resolution such as “I’ll write a lot this year” or an overly ambitious resolution such as “I’ll write 5000 words every day,” take the time to look at your commitments and schedule, how much writing you did last year, and your specific motivation for this year. Then plan when and how much you will write each week or month. It’s important to set yourself up for success. Set goals you know you can meet and hopefully exceed.
3. Take your dream seriously. Some women don’t tell others they are writing. They are worried their efforts will be belittled. Some talk about what they intend to do, but allow themselves to be distracted or to take care of other’s problems before their own. As women, we probably find that we’ve been socialized to tend to others. This year, resolve to tend to your writing. Your life is important and the only way to leave a record of it is to write, now. The accomplishment is what matters, not what you do or don’t tell others.
4. Save time. If you are going to write more this year, then you will have to cut back on something else. I haven’t figured out a way to have more than 24 hours in a day, although I’ll admit to trying. If last year you were already busy all the time, then you have to determine how you are going to save time that you can spend on memoir writing. Last year, for example, I resolved to get back to my desk after dinner. I probably gained two extra hours of writing and business time per day.
5. Carry a note book in your purse or backpack. I used to believe that once I remembered an incident, I would continue to remember it. Ever thought of a great way to say something while you were on your way to work or cooking or gardening? Later, when you sat at the computer the great thought seemed to have evaporated? It’s happened to me. Therefore, we suggest you keep pen and paper with you — in your purse when you go out, in a kitchen drawer, back in the bathroom. Just before turning out the light at night an idea or phrase may come to you. Having paper in the ready position means you won’t lose those memories. The secondary benefit is that carrying paper means you are telling your mind it is all right to focus on the memoir. You’ll probably find more ideas coming to you.
6. Make room for your dream. For a dream to become a reality, it needs space in our real environment. Make a regular space for your writing. Kendra and I often ask memoir authors to describe where they work. There are many types of writing places but a regular place is important. Don’t think the kitchen table will work because you will have to remove your papers at each meal. Give your memories and your memoir writing a specific area.
7. Read, read, read. Resolve to read at least one memoir a month. You might look for stories similar to yours as well as stories that are quite dissimilar. Evaluate what you like and what you don’t like. Make lists. If you see some of the same points coming up multiple times, then pay attention. Look at your own writing and see if you incorporate what you like in other memoirs and make sure you leave out the type of writing that you find unappealing. In addition to reading one memoir a month, read one fiction book. Again, evaluate the strengths and the weaknesses. Are the characterizations strong but the setting weak? Can you imagine yourself in each scene or do you find you have no idea where the story takes place? Learn how to incorporate some of the best techniques of fiction writing into your memoir writing. The major difference is that you are telling a true story.
8. Exercise your body and your mind. Move your memoir muscles. Flex your writing muscles. Exercise all your muscles. Stuck in your writing? Stand up and take a walk or a jog. Get on a bicycle and go around the block. You’ll find that moving your muscles can help clear your mind so that the thoughts have a chance to get through to you.
9. Just write. Resolutions mean nothing unless you actually write. I always like the story about the three men on an island and one of them said, “I’ve decided to leave.” Then the question is asked, “How many men are on the island.” And, of course, the answer is three. Just deciding to do something is not enough. You have to take action. We urge you to write today. Write now.
10. Celebrate. If your plan says that you will write for thirty minutes on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, then celebrate each Friday if you have accomplished your goal. Mini-celebrations are an important way to reinforce the new habit that you are developing.
As Kendra always says at the end of our interviews, “Now, get to writing.” Let us know your goals and share you successes with us throughout the year. Enjoy 2010.
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