Lorna Faith

Clean Fiction Author

034 How to Write Memoir with Marion Roach Smith

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If you’ve ever thought about writing down your own memories or some part of your own tale – and don’t understand a simple way to do that – you’ll find this interview helpful.

In today’s interview, Marion Roach Smith talks about the power of memoir and how we can all use it to understand ourselves better and to become better writers.

In the update, I talk about some books I’ve found helpful.  The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life by Marion Roach Smith, is a very useful and practical book for anyone who wants to learn to write their own story. Also, during the holidays I started reading Impactivity: How to Shift Your Productivity into Lasting Impact by Tracy Higley and this book really helped me sketch out a strategy for the goals I have and to prioritize habits and routines.

Click Here to Watch the Video Interview

Interview Summary…

Marion Roach Smith is the author of 4 books. She has written for many major publications, including The New York Times, Good HouseKeeping, Martha Stuart Living, Vogue and many more. She been teaching memoir writing for over a decade and her latest book is ‘The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing and Life.’

  • Marion began her career writing for the New York Times about the death of her mother from Alzheimers, which not many people had heard about back then. Because of the far reaching effects of the piece she wrote, she ended up being on the Today Show. It started a conversation about Alzheimers disease. Since that time, she’s written more books – about forensic science and the history of red hair – as well as a bunch of pieces for mainstream media and she also blogs on a regular basis.
  • What is Memoir? Memoir is when you write about your own story – but instead of writing about your whole life, you are writing about a specific insight into a certain aspect of your expertise. Memoir is not autobiography where you are writing about your whole life. Most of us are not famous enough, that readers would want to read about our whole life.
  • Since we each have a unique story – and many stories within our big story – writing memoir is great for self-discovery and self-understanding. When you ask deep and insightful questions it will help dig deeper into the reasons behind why you’re writing on a specific topic. Writing memoir – whether it’s an essay, a blogpost or a longer form like a book – is a way to focus on a specific topic which gives insight into a universal theme for many readers.
  • I share a sappy, but heartfelt moment I had with our oldest son(who is now 22 years old), when he was six years old and off to his first birthday party. As he walked down the stairs to his friend’s mom, I saw my son grow a little larger with each step – until he looked like he was full grown. That was a very touching moment for me as a mom – and Marion mentioned that this could be a piece that would have the universal theme of Embracing loss. And the argument for this book would be If as parents we do our job well, our children will leave us. 

    The formula for a great Memoir piece is: your story is about X as illustrated by Y, to be told in a blogpost; personal essay; radio essay; or chapter of your book.

  • If you’re writing a Memoir in a book form, think of it like a 3 Act Structure. For example, if I was going to write the book above, the First Act would be something about being at home as a mom and raising the kids. End of Act I, would have the scene of seeing my son growing taller which each step he took down the stairs. By the end of Act II, the ultimate scene would be as a mom, being okay with the idea that this is the definition of success. Then Act III, could be the kids come home and you celebrate their independence.
  • Just because something happened in your life doesn’t make it interesting. It’s important to know what to leave out. You as the author, shouldn’t be centre stage. There should be some deeper consideration of your theme and argument. Each page you write should drive the story ahead.
  • Understand that when you’re writing Memoir – it’s your truth that matters. There will always be another version of the truth. Do your best not to mess with the intent of the exchange, even if you can’t remember the actual words that were spoken. If your story has a bunch of cliche, it’s a sign that you  need to dig deeper.
  • Write your story first, before you worry about the possible emotional upset to your family members. Remember you can’t libel the dead, so you can write about them. But it’s also important to remember readers aren’t interested in reading a story about revenge. Also when you ask beta readers to read your story, to get someone who is not a family member to read your memoir.
  • You can use little pieces or your own memoir as you write fiction or nonfiction. Many times as we write books, bits or our lives are woven into the story. For example, my nonfiction book Write and Publish Your First Book, has little stories about how I finally got through fear to write and self-publish my first novel. That is memoir – pieces of personal narrative that illustrate a theme.

    Find a theme that resonates with other people.

  • Just because something happened in your life, doesn’t make it interesting. For example, if you write about your day by day account of your life with your cat vs. how animals can change your life – which you illustrate by your stories about you and your cat – that will resonate with readers.  Discern between what happened to you and what the book is really about.
  • Also, a good editor can help you step outside your story to know what stories to leave in the book and what needs to go. This is where doing a good job self-editing and then bringing your manuscript to an editor who understands and wants your success is critical.
  • Write your argument or theme on a piece of paper and then write down the stories you remember from your life, as they relate to that theme. This will help you get focussed as your write your Memoir.

    Remember, writing is one of the best ways to improve your own life. Take 5 minutes right now and write a few more words of your story 😉

If you want to connect with Marion, you can find her and her newest projects and courses at www.MarionRoach.com and connect with her on Twitter @mroachsmith.

Create A Story You Love Community Survey 2017

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I’ve been blogging, having fun doing interviews via Podcast and YouTube, for a couple of years now and it’s been a big learning curve ~ but most of all it’s been a lot of fun!

Since I’ve rarely asked for your opinion on this blog before, I thought what better way to start this New Year than to ask you how I could bring you the most value.

Which areas of mindset, writing, editing, self-publishing or marketing do you feel you are struggling the most with?

This survey is open until the closing date of January 11th at 11:59pm EST(I extended it a few days for people who had missed hearing about it).

These short multiple choice questions are aimed at people who have been interacting with me at the lornafaith.com or createastoryyoulove.com website, podcast or YouTube channel for at least 3 months.

To complete the survey click on the image below, or click this link to complete it online.

If you’re part of the regular Create A Story You Love community, please take the short survey below to help me offer you more value and serve your needs better.

I’ll be sharing the results of the survey on a blogpost on January 19, 2017… so stay tuned for that.

Thank you so much for helping me understand how I can improve the posts I write for this website as well as for your insight and ideas on what would be really helpful to you in a writing and self-publishing membership site, which I’m thinking about putting together at some point.

You’re welcome to leave a comment below with any ideas on how I can improve or what you’ve been enjoying about the blogposts, podcasts or anything else 😉

Thanks so much!

032 How to Learn Scrivener Fast with Joseph Michael

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I’m excited to share with you a interview I had with Joseph Michael. You might know him as the Scrivener Coach. Joe is husband and dad as well as a blogger, a creator of digital info products and a creative entrepreneur.

Joseph created the Learn Scrivener Fast online course to help writers understand better how to use Scrivener in their everyday writing.

You can connect with Joe on one of his 3 blogs, JosephMichael.net, BetterBlogImages.com or EfficientLifeSkills.com. You can also find him hanging out on Twitter or Facebook.

In the intro of the podcast, I share some books and book giveaways.

First book that I’ve been rereading is Do The Work by Steven Pressfield. This book really challenges me and takes me beyond my comfort zone as far as work ethic and thinking bigger. If you haven’t read it, you should. Level Up Your Day: How to Maximize the 6 Essential Areas of Your Daily Routine by S. J. Scott and Rebecca Livermore. Learn how to start simple and effective habits that will take you to your goals.

Click Here to Watch the Video Interview

Summary of the Interview:

*Joe tells his story of growing up in a home where his parents were entrepreneurial and his Dad was a business man, always trying new things. So he thought getting out there and trying new things was normal. He knew that he wanted to make a difference, but he wanted the results of what he did to be directly related to how hard he was going to work at it. So by the time he was in High School, after he tired of the mall jobs, he decided, along with his girlfriend(now wife) to start a snow-cone business in the summer. They worked whenever they wanted to and made twice as much as other jobs.

*A couple of years ago, Joe was able to retire from his Corporate job, because of the success he’s had in his online business. He says it feels like he’s a teenager again and able to have fun doing what he loves.

*He started looking to supplement his income on the side. Originally all he wanted to do was make an extra $300 a month. Just to have a little extra cushion and pay off some debts. He said he hated the feeling that someone else held the control over him whether he would have a job in a month or not. So he started looking for pizza delivery jobs to make extra money. But he said he got rejected because he didn’t have delivery driving experience. So he got frustrated and it was at that point he started looking for different opportunities online.

*His blog www.efficientlifeskills.com started because he had a wealth of information from listening to Zig Ziglar and Tony Robins, etc. He was inspired by Pat Flynn when he saw he was making a living online. So he started to research all he could about how to start an online business. That’s how he got his start.

*Joe says his goal is to bring all that he’s learned and break them down and see if anyone else can learn from them. His YouTube video, that was so popular, was birthed out of a real life problem he had with teaching his daughter to tie her shoes.

*He says he wouldn’t have started working on Scrivener to help writers to write faster and better, if he hadn’t originally found a pain point from scanning through people’s comments on Michael Hyatt’s blog. Joe encourages anyone who is creating products or any kind of info product, to really learn the Art of Listening to what people are struggling with and what they need help with. Then go make that product.

*Even though creating the Scrivener was totally different than what he was doing on his blog EfficientLifeSkills, he was willing to pivot. He says as creative entrepreneurs that’s an important skill to learn. Even though what you’re doing might look different than what you originally planned.

*Joe encourages people who are creating products and spend a bunch of time online to listen to the tips from InternetBusinessMastery.com. Put yourself on a information diet and focus only on the strategy you’re working on in that moment. He says you’ll find a way if there’s something you’re passionate about otherwise you’ll find an excuse. He says he sacrificed his lunch breaks to record some of the tutorials on the Scrivener course, and that’s how he found time to get the course finished. Just do the one next thing that’s right for you.

*He says he’s had a few failures, with businesses he started early on … even to the point of burning himself out. At one point Joe said he gave up, thinking he’d need to be stuck in his job until he retired. It was due to those failures, that he started learning what he could do differently. He started to see new opportunities like a science experiment instead of feeling stressed like each new thing was a do or die type of thing. One of his failures was when he wrote a ebook to giveaway on his blog and no one wanted it. His learning point was that he created what he thought his audience needed instead of asking people what they wanted.

*He encourages people to keep testing things, asking questions on their blogs and on social media to find out what people really want. Is what you’re putting out there getting shares? Is it getting likes? What do others say in the comments? What words are they using? If you do that, you won’t be frustrated with wasted time. Listening to people’s pain points is really the Art of Listening.

*Joe recommends the book by Eric Ries, The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. The author talks about creating a minimal viable product and that the quicker you can get that product out the door the better off you’ll be. He encourages people to create something that you can exchange dollars for… often something small to start with.

*Joe talks a little about his online course Learn Scrivener Fast. He originally got the idea when he read that Michael Hyatt used Scrivener for his blogging. In the comments of that blogpost, Joe listened to people talking about how hard it was to learn Scrivener. He saw a need and started to create the course. This course is very easy to listen to and very professionally done. If you’re a writer and you need a great program that shows you how to keep your blogposts in one place or a spot to write your novel where you can also learn how to put your ebook onto Amazon, this is the course for you.

Thanks Joe, for sharing your story and all the tips and inspiration you’ve given today to writers and other creative entrepreneurs.

You can connect with Joe on Facebook or Twitter.

Have you learned the art of listening to people you’re connected with? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments, that way we can all learn from each other 😉

3 Obstacles to Start Writing Your Book (and what to do instead)

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Many times when I sit down to write I end up staring out the window or getting up to pace back and forth across the room.

Soon, I find myself checking out other peoples’ blogs, going on different social media networks, vacuuming – basically anything to avoid confronting that intimidating blank page.

The words eventually come to me – out of sheer desperation – but I can tell that much of what I’m writing will probably be cut out. Sometimes my words show up like mixed up metaphors or other mumbo-jumbo or my main character suddenly is someone I don’t recognize. I ask myself, why did I like her again?

Whether you’re writing a YA novel, an genre fiction or a nonfiction book, getting started sometimes can be the hardest part.

Why are there so many obstacles to getting started?

3-obstacles-to-start-lornafaith

1. Writing is Hard.

There are many surveys out there that say up to 82% of Americans want to someday write a book. That’s amazing! That’s 8 out of every 10 people you know.

How many of people you know, are going after their writing dreams? How many of those people will actually make it?

Tips on what to do:

  • recognize you’re trying something that is quite difficult.
  • It means regular practice and staring at your computer screen and more than likely some tears(I used to practice piano everyday for an hour – writing is similar in that it needs regular practice for each of us to continually get better;)
  • there will also be scenes or paragraphs that need to be rewritten – but this is all part of what we as writers do.
  • Make it a daily practice to write for 15 minutes or so. This will help writing become a habit in your life and once the routine is established, writing becomes just part of what you do everyday.

2. Writing is Messy.

Most writers want their words to come out right the first time. This affliction that plagues us is also known as fear of failure and perfectionism. Way too many of us as writers deal with this – I know I do… in spades.

Tips on what to do:

  • Embrace the truth that no writing you do, is a waste of time. Even if you write a paragraph or a scene or a chapter that you end up throwing away, it was still time spent refining your craft.
  • If you’ve ever saved any of your old writing you did in elementary or Junior School or High School, look back at that and realize, yes I am making massive progress.
  • Accept that nobody’s first draft is flawless. Just write the first draft – without editing – and embrace your love of story.

3. Writing is Scary.

Writing can be scary. Sometimes the thought of writing a whole book, can seem intimidating. There is outlining to do and then there’s the opening scenes and the rest of the chapters to figure out. After that, there’s still rewriting and editing.

With all of time and effort that goes into a book, we worry that maybe we’ll never be able to finish writing it.

Tips on what to do:

  • Rather than staring vacantly at the monstrous project before you, break it down into small chunks.
  • Every once in awhile check your chapter beats or your outline sort of as a guideline where to where you’re going, but then focus only on the next scene you’re writing for that day.
  • Write to a daily or weekly quota of words. James Scott Bell recommends doing this and says it helps to keep you focussed and productive.
  • BIG key is that your goal seems do-able for you as the writer. When you write regularly, the story will seem like it finishes itself.

Some last thoughts. I’ve discovered in my own writing process, when I focus on the story, I begin to fall in love with the story all over again. When the love of story wraps around me, that’s when I get into story flow. Seriously… that’s when the book seems to ‘write itself.’

Give yourself a pat on the back for doing something that many people say they want to do, but most don’t do the hard work to write.

Most of all, let go of all of your fears and inhibitions and just have fun! After all, we’re writers and we’re telling stories because we love it 😉

What are some obstacles you’ve faced as you’ve started to write your book? Please, share your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear your tips on writing your book.

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