“The messy middle”: Pushing through the toughest part of memoir writing

You start out with excitement and fervor—blank pages are feverishly filled with stories about your life. But what can you do when your memoir momentum wanes?

memoir & writingDawn M. RoodeJune 23, 2025what to do when i am stuck on my memoir writing, how to battle writers block for my memoir, why can't i finish my life storyComment

Putting the pieces together (aka memoir ‘making’)

By holding as your goal the idea of ‘writing your memoir,’ you are focused too soon on the end goal. Instead, think about writing towards your memoir.

memoir & writingDawn M. RoodeMay 12, 2025how to gain clarity on my memoir's theme, how to find the point of my memoir writing, how to write a memoir when I don't know where to startComment

“I’m scared.”

Are you nervous about undertaking a life story project? Working with a personal historian or memoir coach can help alleviate many of the most common fears.

memoir & writing, why tell your stories?Dawn M. RoodeApril 28, 2025common fears about writing my life story, how to get over fears about writing my memoir, what are common fears about writing about my lifeComment

Why you need emotional distance when writing memoir

Is there ever really a ‘right’ time to start writing your memoir? There’s not, in my opinion, but here are two questions to ask yourself to help you decide.

memoir & writingDawn M. RoodeMarch 24, 2025writing about trauma in memoir, when is the right time to write about my life\, how to get emotional distance when writing memoirComment

Do you keep a writing ideas notebook?

Writer’s block can happen to the best of us. This simple idea—keeping a notebook of self-generated writing prompts—will keep your memoir ideas flowing.

memoir & writingDawn M. RoodeJanuary 14, 2025how to keep a notebook of writing ideas, keeping track of things you want to write about from your life, how to make a notebook of personalized writing promptsComment

Before you gift someone our Write Your Life prompts (or, “Who this gift is NOT for?”)

Looking for a meaningful gift for your parents? An annual subscription to our Write Your Life memory and writing prompts may be just the thing—or, maybe not.

memoir & writing, reviewsDawn M. RoodeDecember 7, 2024best sentimental gift for parents or grandparents, a year of memory prompts and writing guidance, memoir writing course for average personComment

“Write Your Life” delivers weekly memory & writing prompts via email

Learn about our Write Your Life course, providing memory prompts, writing guidance and a dose of inspiration to anyone who wants to preserve their stories now.

family history, memoir & writingDawn M. RoodeNovember 25, 2024writing courses, life story writing prompts, memoir writing courseComment

“We all know who’s in the pictures”—a poor excuse for skipping captions

Here’s one time I gave in to my client’s preferences that still haunts me: Why we did not identify people in any of the photos in their family history book.

memoir & writingDawn M. RoodeSeptember 23, 2024an argument for captioning photos in your family album, how family history is lost, why captions are good in a life story bookComment