STEP 1—SOME GOALS and WAYS TO ACCOMPLISH THEM
Everything has a beginning! So to help you get started—and because my personality is goal-orientated—I have set four goals that will help you:
- Discover the value of recording events that centred on your life as you learn ways of recording your story.
- Don’t be intimidated by those who are further along in the world of writing. Everyone has a beginning!
- Understand that with the right desire, motivation and practice the skill of writing can be developed.
- Think small! You can write your memoir the same way you would eat an elephant…one bite at a time.
THE ‘Be’s OF WRITING
In 2004, I formed a writer’s group of 5 ladies. We called ourselves the WWC —Women Writing for Christ. In the early days of establishing our group, we implemented the Be’s of Writing. They will help you with these goals.
- Be encouraged
- Be motivated
- Be challenged
- Be patient
- Be faithful
- Believe
- Become
I’d like to add one more…
8. Be humoured…because sometimes we have to laugh at ourselves!
STEP 2—SOME DEFINITIONS
With the use of a book entitled Turning Life into Fiction by Robin Hemley, let’s acknowledge and define some words we frequently hear.
A Diary is a day-to-day recording of our existence culminating at the end of one’s life.
A Biography is an account of a person’s life written by another. The subject of the book could be alive or dead. An Autobiography is an account of a person’s life written or otherwise recorded by that person and, traditionally, is reserved for someone who is extraordinarily famous.
A Journal can sometimes take the form of a diary, but is normally void of the day-to-dayness of a diary . . . it is a sketch book of words, not structured sentences.
A Memoir has come to mean an autobiographical work that generally is more specific in nature and encapsulates a specific period of time or an experience. It is NOT the entire life itself. The key phrase here is not the entire life itself. Paula Balzer defines a memoir very succinctly. In Writing & Selling Your Memoir she writes that “a memoir is not so much a “life story” as it is a “story of life experiences.”
STEP 3—SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER
- The past cannot be verified because we all remember it differently. No one— your spouse, children, parents, siblings, relatives or friends—knows the total story of YOU. Two siblings can experience the same moment but each will provide their own slant on what they recall, with neither being wrong.
- Although it may not seem important to you now, your memoir can provide valuable information about you and your family for generations to come.
- Age is not a factor. If children can tell stories of events in their lives, so can people of any age.
- A delightful quote from Mark Twain will help you relax when it comes to remember with accuracy the events of your life: “When I was younger, I could remember everything whether it happened or not.” BUT, it’s important to remain as accurate and truthful as possible, while at the same time allowing room for some mild but plausible imagination.
STEP4—FINALLY…
Purchase a 3-ring binder and lined paper. You will be using worksheets that are best suited to this type of arrangement.
Print whatever you feel will assist you as you Write your Yesterdays!
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