Writing Blocks & Overcoming Them

I’ve been writing my memoir for many years now and, as I’ve heard others say after working on it for a long amount of time, “I’m getting pretty sick of it.” I read what I’ve written over and over, making corrections, adding new thoughts and stories and memories, rearranging things so they make more sense, and at night I dream about the past, sometimes remembering something new for another story. But now I’ve reached a stumbling point, writer’s block to be specific, and that little voice in my head is asking why am I knocking myself out to do this? What is the point anyway?

So, I thought it would give me some new incentive if I could determine why writing about my past is important. Here are a few things I found from some research on the web:

• Out of six billion people on earth each person’s life story is unique and important to someone. How many times have you thought to yourself, if only I had asked so and so about that? Sad to say, this is a normal occurrence at a funeral or later. Don’t let it be your funeral. A memoir is a chance to set the record straight as you remember it.

• Writing memoir is a challenging mental activity. Who out there writing one wouldn’t agree with this? There is a myriad of help and writing prompts to be found on the internet. Answering intimate questions about one’s past and writing them down may lead to some clarity and can give today’s life new meaning.

• Relive the most profound moments of your life, put the reader in your shoes, and gift yourself immortality. Many authors have ended up feeling their memoir was their most important writing and that it became their legacy regardless of how many other books they had written.

• Your life has been enriched by the achievements and heritage of your ancestors. A memoir gives you the opportunity to pass this on. In written form, your life is documented, allowing others, perhaps generations later, to know you. That’s pretty empowering.

All of these things are good reasons, but in the end my memoir is my baby, and if I don’t love the process of writing about my past, not much is going to get done, and what does get written is not going to be very good or interesting to anyone else. Memoir is like writing about anything. There has to be a passion for it. So how do I get back the passion for writing my memoir?

One thing I know for certain, writing does clarify things and sharing that writing gives me a sense of self-worth. I share my stories in my blog and through a life history group of which I’m a member and, most importantly, through my writing critique group. Passion comes from many things but encouragement is a biggie with me, and I get that with my pod buddies. There’s something magical about sharing your life with others and when members of my group ask questions or say yeah, I remember doing that, or they want to hear more of a particular story, something deep in my soul just dances. And then I am passionate to write more.

In a way I started writing my life story long before I knew anything about a critique group. I’ve always kept a journal, diary if you prefer. I loved writing and I loved rereading what I had written. It brought me closer to me somehow, reading the journey of my life. I always caught myself saying I had forgotten about that as I read through.

Memoir is my favorite genre to read. I can’t get enough of hearing about other people’s lives. The book lying on my nightstand today is by Harry Crews, A Childhood, and as I read, I’m right there with him in that little Georgia town growing up in the Depression. I’m nosy but shy about asking personal questions. In memoir my questions are answered before I think of them.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that many things stir my passion for writing my own memoir and when I get a “block”, I have to remember to do those things to get me going again. Just writing this post is making me anxious to pull up “mybook.doc”, read a little and write a little, while the passion is flaming. I hope some of these suggestions will help you through a block because your story is important to you, to others, and to me.

The Power of the Writer

If you’re a writer, do you think of yourself as powerful? Or do you think of your writing as a pastime, something to do when you have nothing else to do? Consider the following subjects as examples of the impact of writing.

First impressions

We have all heard the term applied to meeting people but how about the books you have read? James Michener comes to my mind right away. He gave me my first impressions of Alaska, Hawaii, Africa, and many more. News stories assault us almost every minute and give us first impressions on numerous topics, some true, some not. We get our first impressions on so many subjects through reading other people’s writing; it is staggering to think about.

Inspiration

I feel this term would not exist if it were not for the writer. Encouragement through inspiration leads us to further our knowledge of something that interests us. It makes us act, try something, read more, and it feeds our soul. Positive thoughts, advice, ideas…all of these come to us through inspirational writers. Inspiration means different things to different people, but if you are interested in being inspired, there is a book out there for you. And if there is not, you should write one.

Immortality

History, how would we know it without writers? Sure, someone may dig up a mastodon or a dinosaur, and we can visit a museum to see what they looked like, but if it were not for writing, why would we even be interested? We need writers to make us act. Our stories can give us immortality if we put them to words and pass those words on to readers. Some of us may think our life stories are dull and uninteresting, but there is someone out there waiting to read about us. Think how your story would interest a person living in another culture, and how it might impact them.

A Memory Bank

Alzheimer’s is prominent in the news and seems to be something in all our futures if we live long enough. Who knows what we will remember when we finally succumb to this tragedy of the mind. We can make it less of a tragedy by writing down things we remember now so those memories can be passed on to others. It does not matter your current age because we do not know what tomorrow may bring, or even if we will have a tomorrow. Journals are our memories for tomorrow. Pretty though they may be, don’t leave them blank.

Artistic Creation

How many have turned to a book to learn how to do a craft or play an instrument or paint a picture or use a camera or any number of other things. A piece of writing may have originally planted that seed in our imagination. Books always go along with how-tos. Unless we are just browsing, we search youtube videos after we have read about something that interests us. Self-help books are a multi-million dollar industry for the writer. Have you ever ordered something you had to put together. Although directions may be a last resort, I always have to go there eventually.

Engagement

I am not talking about the marrying kind, but the writing kind that captures your attention and makes you think in ways you would not have thought before. It gets you involved, stirs you to participate in some way. Do you remember the movie, The Sixth Sense? Yes, maybe it was a little far out, but engaging? You bet. It was written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan.  This is powerful and engaging writing, not soon forgotten. I know you can think of many other books you will never forget, even some that may have changed your life.

Persuasion

I hope this little essay I am writing will persuade you to take up or resume the practice of writing. Through rhetoric, I have offered reasons to write, appealed to your emotions, given examples, used metaphors, and many other writing techniques to sway your thought process to this end. If you have ever written a letter of complaint, you know what persuasive writing is. Op ed pieces fit in this category, too.

Writing is a powerful force in today’s world, and you hold that power in your fingers and in your mind. Share it. I may be one little dot in the universe (Carl Sagan’s Cosmos), but I have the power to decide if anyone remembers me when my little dot floats away. You have that power, too.