Find a Focus

It may be confusing to think of a focus for your memoir. One way of finding a focus is to begin making a list of family members, places you’ve lived, successes, work experiences, trips, great joys, heartaches and sorrows, people who have had an impact on your life, etc. When compiling the list, jot down a few lines about the subjects. As future thoughts come to you, add to the list. Think about the stories family memories have relayed to you over the years and write those down. Look at family photo albums , family heirlooms, or keepsakes. Don't forget to add to the list those family stories you've heard and revere. You may see a pattern of events or people that you seem passionate about detailing. With enough of these jottings, you’ll begin to see a pattern forming for an area of focus.

What's the Purpose of Your Memoir?

Determine the purpose of the memoir; what you want the reader to know. Also, will it be for your family use, to share at a specific event, for general publication, etc.?
For example, Heaven Help Mom was written for general publication. Its purpose was to share with readers Biblical lessons my children taught me and to inspire the readers to look for the daily lessons that children unknowingly teach adults.

Memoir Defined

A memoir concentrates on a specific period of time or related events.
Heaven Help Mom concentrates on the years when my children were growing up. It also was written from the perspective of related events. All the stories told were about daily events in which my children taught me a lesson.

Worry

Worrying is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but gets you nowhere.
Glenn Turner (broadway actor)

Background

Here's another excerpt from my book, Heaven Help Mom. The story talks about how in a confined car my son goes from extremely busy to extremely peaceful. I don't understand why.

" I totally overlooked the obvious explanation for his peacefulness. I didn't even realize it was raining. To him, God's creation was perplexing, enjoyable and quieting. To me, God's craft had become part of the background in life that was easy to overlook. Creation is indeed perplexing and given to us to respect and enjoy, not to be ignored. As I followed the raindrops on the window, I found that it is very peaceful to reflect on the magnitude of God's creation."

Listen to bookbitesforkids

I will appear Monday, January 7, 2008 at 2pm central time on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookbitesforkids I'll talk about my book Heaven Help Mom and Maybe the Kids Will Help

Noises in Life

Christmas is past and also past is a December family wedding. Now, it is back to posting regularly on Mondays and Wednesdays. To make up for my omissions last week, I'm posting today and will be back on schedule Monday.
The recent wedding meant sharing time with out of town friends and relatives. When we all gathered together, there was lots of fun and lots of noise. When little ones were present there was often loud crying as well as noises of glee. The time together made me realize my life as a writer is a quiet one. While sometimes I welcomed the change from the peacefulness, there were times when it was challenging. It made me think of a story from my book, Heaven Help Mom.
The story relays how two children view the noises in their lives very differently and the message learned was; "our life is often the product of the way we view it and chose to live it. A life centered in God can turn a devastating situation into a challenging proposition; a situation of fear into a positive approach; an episode of loneliness into an outreach to others." May the variety of noises in your life contribute to produce a symphony.