Memoirists: Discover Your Compelling Reason to Do This (which will keep you writing)

Step 2

Before you do anything, reread what you wrote in response to resistance yesterday. What was your good idea for writing this memoir, e.g., This is a good idea because I didn’t know [________] would work out either, and it did. If you’re having trouble believing it, put “It’s possible…” in front of it: It’s possible that this is a good idea because I didn’t know [_______] would work out either, and it did.

Finishing a memoir demands a compelling reason. Without it, drafts go unfinished, writer’s groups are formed with few results, the thoughts that run through the brain that “it will never happen” and “it will never work” and “I can’t do it” and “it’s not interesting” take over, and the memoir never gets written.

The way to manage those thoughts and write a memoir is threefold. You need

1.     a compelling reason to write the memoir,

2.     a willingness to feel discomfort (e.g., confusion, doubt, self-pity, fear), and

3.     the understanding that writer’s block is a myth.

Compelling Reason

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