Why you need to treat memoir writing like your new part time job (if you want to finish it)

Kia Ora,

Are you mid-way through writing your story but struggling to finish it? I know some of you are, because it was the top problem you told me about, when I asked you what the hardest thing was about writing your memoir a few weeks ago.

So! Here are three habits I’ve learned to use to finish writing or editing memoirs and histories for people (I’m up to number 24 ish. I lose count).

1. Commit to taking small, consistent steps, most days. Yes, you are going to need to lock this in, if you’re serious about finishing it. That’s why I’m jokingly referring to it as your new part time job. You do need to take it that seriously. Personally I don’t enjoy too many hours at once on my computer, so I like to schedule two to three hours time (with breaks every 30 ish minutes to move my body), per day that I want to write. I prefer to write first thing in the morning, just after a walk to wake up. You choose how much time you want to put into this, even 30 minutes over three days per week adds up. But you’re going to need to prioritise and give this your focus until it’s finished.
2. Find your ‘why’. Ok I admit I was a slacker at getting my assignments in on time at school. It wasn’t until I became a journalist that I learned time management skills to meet my deadlines. So for me my ‘why’ was fear of letting people down, which evolved into pride in doing a quality job for editors, then memoir clients. So what’s your ‘why’? What’s going to be the thing that keeps you going until you finish this?
3. Set SMART goals. You might know that this stands for Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Time bound. In my course Write Your Memoir, students tell me their goals for the year, and their weekly schedule to reach that. We check in on that each month in group meetings. We talk about whether their plans are working, or not. Sometimes people realise they’re more on track than they thought. And sometimes people decide to tweak their plans a little. These goals and the steps to reach them need to be work for you. And I was actually inspired, as I wrote this, to build you a free resource called ‘Your memoir wall planner.’ You can print this out and put it on your wall to look at daily. You can download it here.

Write on.

Charlotte x

PS – Want to talk to me about how I can help you write your memoir? If you’re ready to commit to not only start, but finish writing your memoir within the next 12 months AND polish it up so you can share with your friends, family and community, book an online chat with me here. We’ll see if any of our options work for you.

PPS – with Mother’s Day fast approaching, last week I invited you to send in five words about your mothers, with their photos. And you sent in some incredible words photos. Here’s the first one, from Mary: