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Merely recording the facts without the emotions and thoughts do not create connections for the reader. We know that he was successful in his baseball career.We know his parents discouraged his dreams as well.His parents couldn’t afford to send him to college.He had desires and dreams of being a surgeon.What do we know about the facts of his life? It is the family saga that is critical in memoirs. Think small and you’ll wind up finding the big themes in your family saga.” If you remember them, it’s because they contain a larger truth that your readers will recognize in their own lives. William Zinsser advises, “Write about small, self-contained incidents that are still vivid in your memory. It’s isolating your theme and developing it. It’s joy, self-discovery, shared happiness, angst, and writing in a way that envelops the reader in the familiar emotions, thoughts, and situations. And it’s not just about tragedies in our lives. Memoirs help us put our lives and situations into focus an added perspective that we didn’t have because we felt isolated, alone or the only one who experienced something. Click To Tweet _ Memoir: The Narrow Focus In the memoir, we're identifying the defining choices with an eye for detail about them. We have all had choices to make in our lives that either at the time or when reflecting on the outcomes, determine our attitude towards our lives. Then we can relate even without ever playing baseball. This single story from our fictional person shows us: Because he didn’t have time to be both an All-Star and an A student, he wouldn’t get an academic scholarship. His father stressed that he shouldn’t squander his talents on books, but to put his energy into baseball and be rich and famous. During this stage, start to investigate the publication route you plan to take.His memoir instead relates that at 17 he wanted to be a surgeon but was discouraged by his parents who couldn’t afford college without the athletic scholarship. You want your work to be the best it can be. This is a process that takes time, but it is the mark of a professional. Once you get feedback from others, take the time to refine your work.On the other hand, if you belong to an online group that posts to a forum that anyone can visit, a publisher will consider your work previously published.
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This means only those who are "members" have access to your work, and it is not considered published.
#MEMOIR WRITING PASSWORD#
If your writing is out there on memoir writing web sites, or even part of an online class, make sure it is password protected. This can be through a local writers' guild or an online writing group, but if you choose to take an online approach, be careful. This tactic makes it abundantly clear when your writing bogs down or doesn't make sense. When you pick up the first draft of your memoir to start the revision process, here are a few things to do to help make it the best it can be: Otherwise you can be so familiar with what you've written that you'll skip over things like awkward sentence structure, redundant words, typos, and more. This way when you take it out to start revisions, you'll be reading over it with fresh eyes. Once you have your first draft done, it's a good idea to let it set for about a week. Completing the assignments for a class like this will have you well on your way to writing your own memoir. For example, Writer's Village University offers an eight-week course called: Writing the Memoir. If you have trouble getting your first draft down on paper, visit memoir writing web sites to see what they recommend, or take a class on memoir writing. For example, if you are a morning person, plan to write in the morning while your mind is fresh. The writing approach you follow to accomplish this will depend on your personal preference. Don't allow large gaps of time to interrupt your work, because it can disrupt continuity and you'll have to take the time to re-read what you have just to refresh your memory. Spend time writing regularly until you finish the first draft. What they have to say may help flush out details you weren't aware of or may have forgotten. Take this idea and start to jot down everything you remember about it, and then spend time talking with others who also experienced, or were close to the situation. Something unique or interesting that you've experienced, survived, or endured.