Being a writer often comes hand in hand with being a school supply or office supply nerd. We love to see August roll around because it means those amazing walls of school supplies for the coming year—new pens, notepads, ink colors, and all that. My eyes get huge when I see a new set of color-coordinated post its, notecards, and pens. These accessories can become distracting toys, but if you a setting yourself up to write your memoir, you do need a few of these things! This week, we’re discussing the things that should be on every memoir writer’s shopping list before they start their project. (The list may be shorter than you think, and not all of them are things you can buy on a target endcap!)
Reading is essential to improving your writing skills, and reading like a writer means seeing past the glossy end-result into a book’s structure and the author’s choices about how the story is told. Learning to read like a writer doesn’t mean learning how to merely imitate but learning the craft by example. We’re excited to announce the launch of our Memoir Method Book Club! Your first session is free, so sign up to save your seat here.
Tools of the Trade
All creative trades come with tools that are essential, some that are just nice to have, and some that just make the process feel a bit more fun. Writers get to have a bit fewer of these tools than some other crafts, because all you really must have is a way to record the words—ideally a word processing software since it is the twenty-first century. However, there are some accoutrements that make the job both easier, more pleasant, and more efficient. There are also some accoutrements that are not much more than distracting toys—but that’s a line you have to find for yourself. As you outfit yourself to begin your writing journey, try to find a balance between investing practically in yourself and your writing journey and procrastinating getting started until you find just the perfect thing. Remember that tools are meant to be used. Find ones that are a pleasure to use and will stand up to your use.
Also, we want you to give yourself a firm deadline for when you will have all the tools we will list in this post in hand. This will help you avoid using them as a procrastination tool. You can spend years searching for the perfect pen, but you can’t wait on that to start your book.
A Journal and Pens
This might seem old-fashioned, but we urge even the most tech-enabled writers to have these analog tools in place when you start a project. We all type faster than we write by hand, but sometimes that’s the whole point. If you’re struggling with a scene, writing by hand can take the pressure off. You’re not yet putting it into your formal document, you’re just writing to help you remember, draw out and refine what it is you want to include in those sections. Handwritten notes are progress. When you are writing in your journal, you are pulling out those memories and thoughts without judgement on the exact wording. The tactile experience of writing by hand has also been shown to reinforce connections in memory, sharpen your focus, and get your creative energy going.
In the drafting stage of writing (if you’ve set yourself up well with an outline), you will have an idea each week of what scenes and sections you’ll be working on that week. Setting a time to write in your journal can help you work your way into those scenes, memories, and truths you want to share. Your outline usually only has the basic points, so journaling can help you work your way through the details, pull out the emotions of those moments, and settle you firmly in the moment so you can write them honestly and vividly.
Journals come in all shapes and sizes and shout out to Amanda’s and Emily’s favorite brand for journals Jumping Fox Design (not a paid endorsement, we just like them best.) If you want to splurge and get a unique or beautiful one, you can! Beware, however, the trap of selecting something you feel is too beautiful to write anything less than perfect in. Perfect is not what journals are for. Journals are for revving your engines, getting messy and digging down into the emotional creative space you need to be in. I have some beautiful journals for documenting special occasions, but I prefer something simple, sturdy, and replaceable for my workhorse journals. Speaking of workhorses, you might as well spend a little time finding a solid pen. This is your craft, so pick whatever feels good in your hand and will stand up to how you use it.
A Note Card System
When you are in the development stage of your memoir project, you will have a million and one things that you might want to include, but you’re not sure where of even if all of them will have a place in the book. That is a very normal place to start, and a good notecard system is how we can find a little home for all the ideas, story starts, and details you may want to include (or discard). You can do this physically with a stack of notecards or you can use a digital note taking app (there are many.) I prefer to start with physical note cards and a cork board, but we also have found success using excel or google sheets. These allow a flexible amount of room per “card” and several methods you can employ to sort them.
Scrivener
While it’s not an absolute must-have, Scrivener is a writing program that has a notecard system, binder, outliner, and other tools that I find invaluable in all both my professional and personal writing projects. However, it is the sort of program where you could spend weeks to months just learning all the bells and whistles. You only need about 5-10% of what Scrivener is capable of to write a book with it, so be sure to stick to that firm deadline you set for yourself to have your tools in place, including figuring out what features you’ll learn to use of Scrivener and what you’ll save for later.
Microsoft Word
There are ways around having Microsoft Word, but many of them create more headaches than they’re worth. If you’re dedicated to writing this book, you should know that Word is industry standard, and your project deserves the investment. Transferring and converting file formats can alter formatting, and the easiest way to ensure you’re seeing what the agent or readers are seeing is to have the full program.
Digital File Conventions and Home
Of all the things on the list, this may be the easiest, cheapest, and most crucial. Assuming you already have a computer, all this takes is making a file home for your project and then making it an invariable rule that everything goes into that folder. Your notes, pictures, drafts, brainstorming, outline—everything. You also want to establish a clear file naming convention for yourself and be specific. This will ensure you can always find what you’re looking for. The process of writing a book is usually messy, so plan on that folder being full of different things.
A reliable source for information
Learning is an important part of setting yourself up to write your book, but you may have realized by now that the amount of information available is more than you could possibly absorb in a life time, much less in the time before that deadline you’ve set yourself to get started. You can and should continue learning alongside working on your project, but having a single trusted source for that information will help you keep your focus and momentum, and avoid getting lost in confusing or contradictory advice. Whether that is a single book, blog or post series, or program that you can invest in (like the Memoir Method), choose where you’re going to turn to for help, guidance, and information.
An accountability system
Accountability isn’t someone who nags or berates you for missing deadlines or struggling to meet your word counts of day. Rather, accountability is someone other than yourself who cares that you’re working on this project and want to see you succeed at it. Having a friend or community of support is not just pleasant support, we often find it crucial to have the motivation to finish your project through development, drafting, revision, and publication. Information and guidance is important, but more often than not what really helps is having someone in your corner, helping you keep your momentum and direction. That’s why we formed the Memoir Method in the first place—to give a place for writers to find that accountability, community, and support.
Happy writing!
PS. Searching the internet for writing, publishing, and book marketing advice can be exhausting to say the least! If you’re ready for hands on, one-on-one support for your memoir, check out The Memoir Method. We’d love to welcome you into this nine-month group program specially designed for women writing their first memoirs. And don’t forget, if you’d like to chat with Amanda about the program (or any other services we offer), you can book a free consult any time!
