Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Pamela Jane on March 5, 2012 at 7:33am

Today I blogged on womensmemoirs about how movies and early television programs had a profound effect on us and captured our imagination.  Please stop by and leave a comment about how books, TV programs, and films helped shape your perspective. I'd love to hear what you have to say!

Permalink Reply by Heather Marsten on March 29, 2012 at 12:08am

I''m writing a memoir about healing from abuse.  I noticed your post on media and how it shaped us. I use TV shows in my memoir to show the passage of time and add realism to the time period I'm writing about.  One valuable resource for me is the online TV guides - you can put TV guide and a particular year in Google and it will give you the listing of shows. It has helped me to remember which nights particular shows were broadcast.  In editing the portion I'm working on today I found that the show the Virginian was on during a time when my parents drug me to a meeting that I had to sit through. I could grouse that I'd be missing my favorite show, which I did every Wednesday of that year :).  

Permalink Reply by Pamela Jane on April 5, 2012 at 8:11am

Just posted a piece for womensmemoirs.com on Five Stellar Strategies for Writing Through Tough Times.  Please stop by and share your own strategy; we'd love to hear from you!

Permalink Reply by Pamela Jane on May 7, 2012 at 8:56am

Today I blogged about honoring your writing process:  3 Days of Panic and 1 Day of Work, at womensmemoirs.com.  Please stop by and tell us about your own writing process, and if and how you honor it!  We'd love to hear from you.

Permalink Reply by Nancy Thompson on June 6, 2012 at 8:36pm

I love the idea of writing a memoir but right now at 63, I'm too busy planning my next adventure of retiring, selling off most of our worldly possessions and becoming a citizen of the world with my husband and just a backpack and a rollie.  I started a blog to share my thoughts, concerns, inspiration and information with others and I was amazed at the positive response from baby boomers but much younger folks as well.   My blog is new and I've never written anything but a business letter or reports.  This is a whole new world and I plan on exploring every adventure that comes my way in the years ahead.  I'm going to live with all the gusto I can muster and then, when I can't go anymore, I'll be ready to write the memoir.

My blog is  http://www.justabackpackandarollie.wordpress.com  I would appreciate your feedback as I know I have a lot to learn.

Permalink Reply by Pamela Jane on July 10, 2012 at 7:10am

Even memoirs can be enriched through collaboration:  Read about the Joys of Collaboration at womensmemoirs.com

Permalink Reply by Pamela Jane on August 7, 2012 at 8:39am

Check out my blog for womensmemoirs.com: "I Can't Talk Now; I'm Peeling Carrots!" A (short, funny) Reflection on Multitasking, Mindfulness and Healing. 

Permalink Reply by Valorie Grace Hallinan on August 7, 2012 at 8:58am

I've been writing a memoir on and off for several years. It's a long road, but I suppose these things take time. My writing has certainly matured as I go along. Am now working on a second draft, but it's quite an extensive rewrite.

Certainly, having a blog is helping - I love the discipline, and the interaction with others. (http:bookscansavealife.com)  I'm really glad to have found this group!

Permalink Reply by Deb Trotter on September 24, 2012 at 11:37am

I'm thrilled to find a wonderful group of women MY AGE who are also writing a memoir.

I've been developing a blog with the idea of posting excerpts from my memoir, which I've only begun to write. I had planned on calling my blog "Raised On Love." (I say "planned to call" because recently I've read I should only be using my name for this particular blog. More on that later.) The memoir is about growing up in the foothills of the NC mountains in the 50's and 60's. 

But I'm not sure I have an "angle." Originally I thought the rural setting - along with idea of being part of a large extended family - would make the story unique. (That, and the strong personalities of my parents and grandparents who raised me.) Now I wonder.

I thought I would write the memoir as a series of essays that fit with a specific theme, but a lot of writing coach blogs I've seen seem to discourage that idea. They imply that a chronological memoir is much more 'publishable.")

In regards to using my name as the blog name, there's a problem. I'm an artist and am best known for my Cowgirl themed art. I also license to manufacturers of fine leather accessories like shoes and purses and greeting cards. I have a niche following, and my name is synonymous with cowgirls (at least if you're into that lifestyle/theme.) Any suggestions or thoughts on this problem? Or is it a problem? If I need to use my name as an author, how do I keep people from googling me and coming up with cowgirls? I don't really want to use a pseudonym. One solution might be to use the word "author" or "writer" as part of the blog name ... does that seem silly?

For those of you writing a memoir, are you discouraged or encouraged by the popularity of memoirs right now? Have any of you changed your memoir to address a certain theme/angle, or do you believe your story is so compelling that you can sell it as is?

Tags: baby, boomer, memoir, writers, angle, name, pseudonym, niche

Permalink Reply by Pamela Jane on December 3, 2012 at 8:18am

For those of you who are considering hiring a memoir coach, I wrote a blog on that topic today at womensmemoirs.com: Thinking of Hiring a Memoir Writing Coach? 5 Tips for Getting the M...

Permalink Reply by Rossandra White on March 24, 2013 at 6:42pm

I finished my memoir a year ago, got it professionally edited, trotted it out, got rejected. Meanwhile, I'd been reading my brains out for years about self-publishing. Nah. I needed more. I wanted my book to get a better support and send off and I wasn't ready to wait any longer. Hell, I'm a baby boomer, I'll be dead by the time I find an agent in this climate. So I'm going with She Writes Press. Big decision. I wrote about this in my blog, not only that though, I found myself writing about all those fears that arose when I began my memoir that were resurfacing, about how I was about to well and truly to lay myself out there on the page, naked and vulnerable. And what about the people involved? Would I hurt anyone with my account? I'd already resolved this, hadn't I?

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