Is this the year you’ll publish your memoir?

 

Whew! Are you like me? When Christmas and New Years are behind me, I catch my breath, mentally turn, and step into a different chunk of the year.

 

The holidays hold many distractions—fun distractions, usually—but when we take down our old calendars and replace them with new calendars, it’s time to refocus. We look ahead and make plans: We remind ourselves we’ll have a couple of months of fewer hours of daylight, we’ll have cold weather and maybe snowy roads, and we’ll focus on indoor activities.

 

And that brings me to this indoor activity: How are you doing on writing your memoir?

 

Is this the year you’ll finalize your manuscript?

 

Is this the year you’ll pin down your memoir’s title?

 

Is this the year your book will get its cover design?

 

Is this the year you’ll publish your memoir?

 

Is this the year people—even strangers—will buy and read your memoir?

 

Is this the year your story will change lives?

 

If you’re like many of us, over the holidays you took a break from writing to spend time with family and friends, and now you need motivation to continue authoring your story.

 

Are you struggling to find that motivation—that incentive, that enthusiasm? If so, you’re not alone.

 

At such times, it’s easy to get distracted—because, for many, it’s hard to get back into the writing process. It’s hard to focus.

 

So we fidget. We check Instagram. Send a couple of text messages. Grab a snack, go shopping—all in an attempt to get back into our groove.

 

You’ll probably identify with this Mignon McLaughlin quote:

 

“There’s only one person

who needs a glass of water oftener than

a small child tucked in for the night,

and that’s a writer sitting down to write.”

 

Mick Silva at Higher Purpose Writers posted on Facebook a couple of years ago: “. . . Everyone says [persistence] is the most important part of writing. I’ve said it to all my clients: Most people don’t finish. Even if they finish a draft, they don’t follow through with the rewriting, or the rereading and editing. They just stop. . . .”

 

Refuse to let that happen to you!

 

Mick also offers this encouragement: “Consistent baby steps are important for when passion wanes.”

 

So, persist! Remember: Even baby steps result in progress.

 

And here’s a Nora Roberts quote to inspire you to keep working:

 

“. . . You have to be driven. You have to have the three D’s: drive, discipline, and desire. If you’re missing any one of those three, you can have all the talent in the world, but it’s going to be really hard to get anything done,” Nora says.

 

Here’s my advice: Pat yourself on the back for how far you’ve already come.

 

Since the clock is ticking, be intentional: Keep penning your first draft. Don’t judge your writing at this point. Sure, you’ll have to fix it, but you’ll tackle that later. For now, just write!

 

Focus. Resolve to complete your book.

 Persevere.

 Pray.

 

Writing and publishing your memoir is not a hobby—it’s a ministry.

 

You can do this! You can!

 

Is this the year you’ll publish your memoir?

Whew! Are you like me? When Labor Day is behind us and the kids start school, I catch my breath and mentally turn and step into a different chunk of the year.

Summer has lots of distractions—fun distractions, usually—but when we flip the calendar page to September, thoughts shift to upcoming frost, shorter days, and indoor activities.

And that brings me to this indoor activity: How are you doing on your memoir?

Is this the year you’ll finalize your manuscript?

Is this the year you’ll pin down your memoir’s title?

Is this the year your book will get its cover design?

Is this the year you’ll publish your memoir?

Is this the year people—even strangers—will buy and read your memoir?

Is this the year your story will change lives?

If you’re like many of us, over the summer you took a break from writing to spend time with family and friends, and now you need motivation to continue authoring your story.

Are you struggling to find that motivation—that incentive, that enthusiasm? If so, you’re not alone.

Mick Silva at Higher Purpose Writers posted on Facebook a couple of years ago:  “ . . . Everyone says [persistence] is the most important part of writing. I’ve said it to all my clients: Most people don’t finish. Even if they finish a draft, they don’t follow through with the rewriting, or the rereading and editing. They just stop. . . .”

Refuse to let that happen to you!

Mick also offers this encouragement: “Consistent baby steps are important for when passion wanes.”

So you need to persist and recognize that baby steps result in progress.

And here’s a Nora Roberts quote to inspire you to keep working:

“. . . You have to be driven. You have to have the three D’s: drive, discipline, and desire. If you’re missing any one of those three, you can have all the talent in the world, but it’s going to be really hard to get anything done.”

Here’s my advice: Pat yourself on the back for how far you’ve already come.

Since the clock is ticking, be intentional: Keep penning your first draft. Don’t judge your writing at this point. Sure, you’ll have to fix it, but you’ll tackle that later. For now, just write!

Focus. Resolve to complete your book.

Persevere.

Pray.

Writing and publishing your memoir is not a hobby—it’s a ministry.

You can do this! You can!

“When the glitter settles … a pep talk is in order.”

Of all the blog posts on making New Year’s resolutions about writing, one stood out, Resolution...or...Revolution,* by Stacy at Heartprints of God.

Have you declared that 2012 is The Year of Your Memoir?* I hope so! (Read last Wednesday’s post* if you missed it.)

Some of you—Penny, De, and Janet—say this is The Year of Your Memoir! Bravo!

The rest of you can do the same!

Just picture it: A year from now, your memoir could have a title.

Your memoir could have a cover.

Inside, black ink on white pages could chronicle your stories.

Sounds pretty exciting, but how can you make your memoir a reality?

If you’re like many of us, you took time off during the busy holiday season and now need a boost to get busy writing again. Maybe you can identify with Dianne Christner at WordServe Water Cooler, * who says,

“When the glitter settles, I often discover that my creativity has gravitated from the work place to family, friends, and holiday festivities.… Christmas can leave me feeling unmotivated to return to the hard task of writing. When this happens, a pep talk is in order.…” *

Dozens of writerly-types have written blog posts about the need to make New Year’s resolutions, and perhaps most of us have made some—but I’ve heard only one in five people will keep them!

Here’s a quote I recently put on SM 101’s Facebook Page because, if you want to make significant progress on writing your memoir in 2012, here’s wise advice:

"...You have to be driven. You have to have the three D's: drive, discipline and desire. If you're missing any one of those three, you can have all the talent in the world, but it's going to be really hard to get anything done." (Nora Roberts; emphasis mine)

Of the dozen or so blog posts I read on making New Year’s resolutions about writing, one stood out, Resolution...or...Revolution,* by Stacy at Heartprints of God.

Stacy says that a resolution is a decision.

It “starts in the mind. It is making up your mind you are going to do something different.”

“But,” she asks, “is a resolution what you and I are really wanting?”

Then she defines revolution: It is a complete turn in a new direction resulting in far-reaching change.

I picked up The Synonym Finder, by J. I. Rodale, and looked up revolution: a radical change, a metamorphosis, a transformation.

Stacy says, “We don’t just want to decide to make a change, we want the change! We want to make a complete turn and head in a new direction. We want far-reaching and drastic change.

“… How do we turn our resolution into a true revolution?

“By being intentional. By keeping our goals ever before us… always in view. By doing something each day to bring this goal to a reality.

“Change starts in our mind, but comes to fruition in our actions.…

“It’s not enough to decide one time. We must keep deciding and keep choosing and keep resolving each and every day.”

Wow! I like that, especially the word intentional. How about you?

If you have resolved to make 2012 The Year of Your Memoir, let us know. Leave a comment below because, like Kathy Pooler recently said, it takes a village to write a memoir. We’re in this together!

*Resources and links

Wednesday’s post,

http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2012/01/opportunity-for-you-writing-fast.html

Dianne Christner’s quote, “When the glitter settles,”

http://wordservewatercooler.com/2011/12/27/inspiration-to-write

Stacy’s Resolution or Revolution,

http://www.heartprintsofgod.com/2011/12/resolutionora-revolution.html