Writing Plan for the Next 12 Months

By Denis Ledoux

As we begin a new year, it is always appropriate to ask ourselves what we would like to accomplish in the coming months.

May you write many pages of your memoirs this year--and even bring them to a finish in the form of a published memoir!

Here are several suggestions to help you succeed.

1. Set up a regular writing time. How long you write is perhaps not as important as how frequently you do so.

2. Give yourself permission to write a rough first draft. Perfectionism is not a virtue at this stage.

3. Start anywhere in the story you feel like writing about on any given day and keep writing as long as possible. If the topic changes on the next day, write about the new story line even if you haven't finished the previous one.

4. Once you have a number of stories or story pieces, collate them in a three-ring binder according to chronological order. Write the missing links between the texts that you have already written.

5. Read memoirs critically to learn as much as you can from other writers.

6. Commit to reading how-to write books, take a class, seek coaching.

7. Create an end date (publication) as a stimulus to keep writing.

I wish you many happy hours of writing for each and every week of this year, and I invite you to register for one of our upcoming memoir-writing tele-classes.

Click here for information on Soleil Co-Authoring (Ghostwriting) Services.