You want to hold a pen and start writing all your memories, experience, and emotions and transform them into a memoir. But something is stopping you. It’s probably fear of failing to express your feelings in words.
This is how many people feel when they start writing. They begin with hope and will, but the fear takes over. Many renowned authors have expressed their biggest challenges while writing a memoir.
All these combine to spark the fear and insecurity of the writers when they first start writing. But this combination of fear and insecurity can easily be tackled with some guidance. But this combination of fear and insecurity can easily be tackled with some guidance from a book writing coach.
In this article, you can find ways to tackle your challenges of writing a memoir. Let’s get started.
1. Will people want to read it?
Not everyone has an adventurous life worth writing a memoir about. Climbing mountains, diving into the oceans, swimming with the sharks, and what not! Not all people have the time or financial ability to pursue these.
Some people are just busy with their nine to five jobs, kids, education, or family. That doesn’t mean their life isn’t worth telling others about.
Maybe you don’t have anything interesting or funny to write about, but trust us, whatever you write will give someone a heartwarming feeling. It can be your children, grandchildren, or even your great-grandchildren.
We all wish our grandparents had written small snippets about their life. We would have cherished it. Even their recipes or a favorite song could have stayed in our memories if they wrote something.
How to overcome
If you have written something, be sure that there will be an audience for it. It could be massive or it could be a small niche audience but there will almost certainly be one.
So try to be a bit more confident. Start writing using baby steps. For example, try writing one or two lines per day and eventually increase the number of lines.
Even if no one is interested, write the memoir for yourself so you can look back at it and feel proud and reminisce.
2. How to express feelings in words
People almost always write out of love, sadness, happiness, or anger. Those writings may not seem much to the eye, but it holds a lot of feelings.
Many writers fail to capture the emotions they feel, which becomes a disappointing experience in their life.
To be fair, expressing feelings in just words is quite hard. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You just need patience and practice and eventually, you’ll be able to do it.
How to overcome
Read books! The best advice we can give you is that you should read books by various authors across as many genres as you can.
The books will teach you how to encapsulate what you think and feel into words. If any of those books have tingled your emotions, go through them properly and notice how the authors carved sentences that could do that.
The same writing technique won’t move everyone, so try to find your own. Use words that are not too hard but relatively simple. Soon you will learn how you can convey emotions through your words.
3. Starting the process of writing
Many people fear taking up writing their memoirs because they don’t know how to start. It’s a common problem when there’s not enough knowledge about writing.
How to overcome
There are many articles that explain how to start writing systematically. All you need is curiosity and the desire to learn.
Moreover, remember that you are the writer and the narrator; the story is how you want it to turn out.
4. How to end in a satisfying way
Many people gather up the courage to start writing but don’t know how or when to end their story. And they keep on writing for years.
We are not saying it’s a bad thing, but everything needs to end because the ending is the most anticipated and beautiful part of a story.
How to overcome
We advise you to go through some online articles, and if you have the time, read five or six books to see the ending. It will give you an idea of how you can continue your story and take it to the end.
5. Is it interesting enough?
The next challenge a writer usually faces is feeling bad for disappointing stories. They start doubting themselves and stop at the first draft. But remember, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and the same goes for the stories of aspiring memoir writers.
After going through over a hundred drafts, you will find yourself admiring something exciting you wrote. You never know when the story will turn out to be amazing.
As we said before, not everyone has an exciting life, but how you write and express yourself in words shows the real magic. Just check out some of the best books whose authors felt completely dejected after going through their first draft.
How to overcome
Even if you have nothing interesting to tell, try writing it. Describe the scenario and the environment of the place. Write about how you were feeling and who else was there. Slowly but surely, you’ll notice that your not-so-interesting story has become an amazing one.
6. What to do after finishing writing
Your memoir is ready, and you feel great about it. But what now? This is a very common question for a new writer. They don’t know what they have to do after they have completed their work.
How to overcome
When you start writing your memoir, writing is not the only thing you need to do. You need to make connections with other writers. Visit your local bookshop or library to see if book signings or author meetings are going on.
If you listen and talk to them, you can get some idea about publishers. If everything goes well, one of them may even offer to publish your writing.
Conclusion
The biggest challenge you will face while writing a memoir is your battle with yourself. If you can overcome it with self-confidence, you are halfway there to writing your memoir.
You don’t need to be a renowned author to write; just believe in yourself. If you can express your feelings through your story, you will be able to connect with readers.
Take a leap of faith and start writing!