Linger With Your Story.

"About all that is required [to become a writer] is that the would-be writer understand clearly what it is [s]he wants to become and what [s]he must do to become it." —John Gardiner, The Art of Fiction

1. Linger With Your Story.

One of the writing process steps I consider important is to linger with your story. Many, and perhaps most, people write too fast. I don’t mean that they end up with a text characterized by sloppy grammar, spelling problems and chronology issues—although that may be the case, of course.

No, what I mean is that they push through the process of writing their?stories much too quickly. They end up with only a part of the?story they could have written had they lingered—and usually not the best part.

So many times in my workshops and in my coaching experience, I have found it easy to tell those?manuscripts?that have been lingered over from those that have not. As somebody’s face?reveals Irish ancestry or Italian heritage, a piece of writing reveals its past.

There is a quality to a piece that has been rushed that is easily discernible to anyone who has learned to write more slowly. So…learn to linger with your story. Here are four steps to do so effectively.

To read the rest of the story, click?here.

To view this content as a video click here.

2.?French Boy?Is An Arbor—Really?

In?French Boy, I understood that my own story was interesting in as much as it was a reflection of a wider culture, of a bigger picture. By itself, it would not find an audience.

I confess that my story—parents, sibling, hometown, etc.—were secondary to the bigger story that I told upfront and inserted everywhere in the background.

That bigger story was about three things: ethnicity, working class and religion. These were my dominant themes. These three streams of introspection were woven in and out of my lifestory. They were like vines that made their way through an arbor or trellis. My lifestory was a support for a bigger story.

Unless you are famous, no one will be interested in the details of your life—unless the minutiae are axiomatic of an era or a culture.

Have you been able to write the bigger picture into your memoir? If not, it is probably not too late to look more deeply into your bigger picture.

To sample my memoir, have a front row seat as I share a story of my childhood drawn from?a four-minute portion of French Boy, click?here.

To purchase your own copy of French Boy, click here.

3. Your Memoir Will Not Sell Itself

At whatever stage of writing you find yourself, it is important to be thinking of how you will bring your memoir to the attention of your audience.

The somber news, unfortunately, is that you will probably not make much money out of your writing. I'm sorry, but that is true for most of us. Click on the image to view the video

What can happen—and this can be wonderful—is that you reach an audience and communicate deeply with them, They will say,?"You have written my story. Thank you."

Your memoir will not sell itself.

You can succeed at writing your memoirs—personal and family stories!???

To read a blog post on this topic, click here.

4. Let's hear from you.

Send?your contributions, comments, and suggestions. Have you had your book published? Let us know and we'll give you a shout out.?Did your book receive a great review article? Let us know.? Have you won an award? Again, send your news in. ([email protected])??

5. In conclusion

?1. Forward this newsletter to friends who would like to receive it or to people who are part of a writing group or ? ? ?

2. Send us their e-addresses.?([email protected])???

[If you are receiving this as a forward, just?drop us?a line to let us know that you would like to receive this directly.]I am so glad that we are doing this journey together.

Good luck with your writing and be sure to wr

Write a bit on your memoir today.

And remember: “Inch by inch, it’s a cinch; yard by yard, it’s hard.”

Denis and The Memoir Network Team

If you appreciate the info in this newsletter and are finding it useful to you as a writer, you will definitely like the Memoir Network website. We have 600+ free blog posts on every topic of writing as well as free ebooks, videos, and writing courses. For starters, download our book, 21 Must-Do, Memoir-Writing Tasks.