Let’s get back to the basics memoir writer

Kia ora,

If you’re new here, welcome! I’m Charlotte, I live in Tākaka, Golden Bay, top of the South Island of New Zealand, with my family, and I’ve been a writer for decades – journalism, blogging, social media, reports, marketing, books – you name it, I’ve written it! 

And you’re here to learn how to write your memoir, life story or family history.

So today we’re going to return to the basics. It can be good to return to the basics, even if you’re well on the way to finishing your story.

So answer me these questions:

1. Who exactly are you writing your story for? Your family? Yourself? Your community? Each are important. Some write purely for themselves, others to pass on knowledge for their family. And it’s good to clarify this before you start, because it determines what you write.
2. What do you want to say? Brainstorm it – take 10 minutes to write it all down, messily, in no particular order.
3. In what order do you want to say it? Organise your ideas from start to finish.

And then you’ll have a basic plan to start your writing journey.

If you’re part way through your story, it can still be helpful to remind yourself who you’re writing for, and what your plan is. And you can brainstorm key points you want to make in each chapter and then organise the order you want to write them in.

I’m laughing a bit as I write this, as one of the reasons I do this work is to take care of your children, who are often my age! I just turned 48. I want you to leave them your memories, perspective and your stories, so that they can easily access their family history, and your voice, through your story. 

Your story matters, so write on, 

Charlotte x

PS if you’d love a lot more support and guidance to write your memoir, life story or family history, join my online course Write Your Memoir (learn about it here) before August 1st to get:

• Access to my online course Write Your Memoir, which will teach you to write your story
• One on one support with me to help you get started and keep going
• To start your story alongside others via our friendly Facebook group
• To learn from this month’s guest speaker – award winning author Gerard Hindmarsh, who will join us to talk about the process of writing his amazing book Angelina – From Stromboli to D’Urville Island: a family’s story
• A 10% discount on Write Your Memoir.