21 Must-Do Memoir-Writing Tasks

By Denis Ledoux

Thinking of writing a memoir is a start, but it doesn't get the story written! Only writing does that!

This introductory title of the Memoir Network Writing Books Series reviews in a succinct and clear manner which are the best writing practices you need to master. You can read the 21 Must-Do Memoir-Writing Tasks as a stand-alone or as an introduction to the other focused books in the series.

21 Must Do Memoir-Writing Tasks brings you rock-solid, proven writing practices that are sure to make your memoir more interesting and more meaningful. This book is your map as you master the way to write a better memoir.

You Can Write Your Memoir. It Is Do-able.

Like learning to ride a bicycle, learning to write a memoir is within your reach. Take one step at a time and eventually all your steps come together in a memoir—all the faster with this concise and comprehensive guide.
21 Must-Do Memoir-Writing Tasks will help the novice writer through:

~ making a Memory List,
~ pre-writing,
~ defining your audience,
~ setting an initial structure,
~ plotting (yes, a memoir needs a plot),
~ why telling the truth is always best,
~ when to write through pain,
~ how to deal with writer's block as the scam it is,
~ self-editing,
~ knowing when you're done.

Free Bonuses

Filled with links to more ample treatment of topics (for those who like to access complementary material), this book contains URLs to posts, ebooks, ecourse, MP#3s—yours free for the taking.

THE MEMOIR NETWORK WRITING BOOKS SERIES

21 Must-Do Memoir-Writing Tasks. Best practices to create your book quickly and well and bring it to your public. This brief overview orients you to the many do-able tasks necessary to create an interesting and meaningful memoir. Consider 21 Must-Do Memoir-Writing Tasks a checklist with explanatory paragraphs! This is a FREE series presentation book.
~ Beyond Writing Prompts. An overview of the Memory List technique plus hundreds of meaningful questions / topics / ideas that help you to reflect deeply on your story. Gone the isolated or irrelevant writing produced by prompts. Appropriate for all skill levels.
~ Start Your Memoir Right is full of practical steps: stop telling yourself to write your memoir, find inspiration to begin, and learn techniques of the art of memoir writing ... you can be successful. Appropriate for all skill levels.
~ Craft A Memoir / 12 Basic Steps for the First-time and (Perhaps) Only-Time Writer The newbie will find many suggestions and techniques to facilitate his/her entry into memoir writing as well as a path to complete the memoir.
~ Organize Your Memoir / Find Your Structure answers the perennial question: How do I put it all my stories, my manuscript pieces, together? Well, this book shows you how! Appropriate for all skill levels.
~ Don't Let Writer's Block Stop You shows you how writer's block CAN teach you to push beyond stuck. Banish writer’s block forever. Appropriate for all skill levels.
~ Write to the End / Eight Strategies to Thrive as a Writer will help you to complete your writing projects and reach the audiences you deserve. Appropriate for all skill levels.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Denis Ledoux
• Release date: Dec 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005519506

Denis Ledoux

YOU CAN LEARN TO WRITE FROM THE INSIDE OUTI believe in the power of telling our personal and family stories. These are our hero's journeys, and by telling them we honor ourselves and the people we have come from. An important early task for the writer is go inside and find the story that is worth telling. The story is not about "nice" words; it is about honest words, visceral words.LIFESTORIES FEED USStories have always played an important role in my life. I grew up in a three-generation home with paternal grandparents who lived upstairs. I heard tales of my extended family and their history recounted by the family storyteller, my grandmother Ledoux. These stories were a food for my soul. I could not get enough of them, and her gift to me was that she was a voluble, entertaining storyteller.I began writing as a short-story writer, drawing on family characters, settings, and stories for my fiction. In 1989, I won the Maine Fiction Award for Mountain Dance & Other Stories. My other titles include What Became of Them and Other Stories from Franco-America (1988), and Lives in Translation: An Anthology of Contemporary Franco-American Writings (which I edited in 1990). In 1992, I published (and it is still in print) Turning Memories Into Memoirs / A Handbook for Writing Lifestories; in 1996, The Photo Scribe / How to Tell the Stories Behind Your Photos; in 2009, The Consumer's Guide to Ghostwriting, in 2013, a memoir—We Were Not Spoiled. E-publication includes the books listed here in Smashwords as well as others.MAKING THE LEAP TO BECOMING A MEMOIR PROFESSIONALIt was a natural leap from my own family stories to helping others to record their stories in well-written accounts that apply all the techniques of fiction writing to autobiography, family reminiscence, and scrapbooking.In 1996, I was honored as Lifewriting Professional of the Year by the Association of Personal Historians.THE MEMOIR NETWORKToday, I continue to work as a writer, educator, teacher, autobiography co-author, memoir-writing coach, editor and publisher. I direct The Memoir Network, an international group of lifestory writing teachers who use my method and materials to lead the popular Turning Memories® and Photo Scribe® workshops and programs.My Memoir Network offers Memoir Professional Packages for individuals wishing to do what we call memoir work in their communities. [http://thememoirnetwork.com/memoir-professional-packages/] Please inquire if you are interested in becoming a Memoir Professional.BUILD YOUR MEMOIR-WRITING LIBRARYYou will find a number of my memoir-writing e-books on Smashwords. Begin to purchase them now so as to develop your memoir-writing library. These are the best memoir-writing books available anywhere at any price.BEYOND THE BOOKSIf you need more than these great books, give me call at 207-353-5454 for a free consultation to determine whether coaching, editing, or ghostwriting is a good fit for you. When you're ready, we can also do book production for you.Keep writing and stay in the memoir conversation.

Book preview

21 Must-Do

Memoir-Writing Tasks

Best Practices

How to Write Quickly and Well

Denis Ledoux

Soleil Press

KUDOS FOR DENIS LEDOUX

I.

Denis Ledoux won the 1989 Maine Fiction Award judged by Elizabeth Hardwick and the juried 1991 and 1996 Maine Individual Writing Fellowships.

II.

Over the years, we’ve been fortunate to have people speak well about The Memoir Network about Memoir Network products and about Denis Ledoux

~ Time Magazine wrote of Denis in an article on memoir writing in April 1999: Denis Ledoux has helped thousands of people get started writing their memoir.

~ The Christian Science Monitor ran either roundups or feature articles on Denis. Three times.

~ His Turning Memories Into Memoirs was deemed by Booklist (the review medium of the American Library Association) as very beneficial…helps writers get off to a great start.

~ Rhonda Kanning Anderson, co-founder of the early (and for long time) premier scrapbooking company, Creative Memories, said of his Photo Scribe: "The Photo Scribe has inspired me to a new level of photo-journaling. This practical step-by-stop guide can enable anyone to discover the depth of their memories."

~ Bottomline Publications acknowledged Denis’s work (in two feature articles) as a memoir ghostwriter, editor and coach

~ The Cincinnati Post praised Turning Memories Into Memoirs / A Handbook for Writing Lifestories: …a step-by-step manual, lots of examples, a fine appendix and a detailed index, making it a useful reference over time.

III.

Denis has been interviewed on a variety of radio stations in cities as far flung as Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Montréal.

He has been interviewed by NPR affiliates as well as Radio Canada.

©Copyright 2022 Denis Ledoux

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations.

For information on how you can get help to write a memoir—yours or someone else’s, contact:

Denis Ledoux

The Memoir Network

95 Gould Road, Lisbon Falls, ME 04252

http://www.TheMemoirNetwork.com

[e-mail]

For hundreds of stimulating and informative posts:

http://www.TheMemoirNetwork.com/memoir-blog

Cover design: Sally Lunt

Reviews for 21 Must-Do Memoir-Writing Tasks

[Mukta Mahajan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful book.
A must read for someone who has so much to say and share with others.