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Are you writing a memoir? Many, many people are.

Did you know that there are different types of memoirs? There are the family legacy, personal struggle, military, spiritual, nostalgia, coming of age, travel, occupational, healing/recovery, self actualization, self help, tell-all and near-death memoirs. While some memoirs are meant simply to share a story, others become somewhat interactive, such as memoirs written in the self-help or how-to style.

Is your memoir designed to teach, inform, lead, help or just entertain? Often the memoir is more for the author—a way of remembering, purging or healing. In some cases, the author isn’t interested in anything other than telling his or her story and they believe others might be interested in reading it.

I wrote a memoir once. It’s called Quest for Truth and it is what I call a situational spiritual memoir. It is a story occurring during a period of my life—something impactful that happened in my life. In fact, it was rather life-changing.

It all started when I agreed to write a book about the work a local hypnotherapist, Don Clark, was doing in past-life regression therapy. He chose me for this assignment because I was
a local writer of note and because I had no previous experience within the realm of metaphysics. He said he wanted a fresh, unbiased approach to the way the material would be presented in this book.

I began my research by observing Clark’s hypnotized clients work through emotional and physical crises via past-life regression therapy. I interviewed these clients later to determine the true effectiveness of their sessions. I researched some of their supposed past lives to discover whether these people actually existed. And I reluctantly succumbed to hypnosis myself in an attempt to better understand the process.

More amazing to me than the supposed past lives I experienced—a hooker in San Francisco, a monk in Scotland, a teacher on the lost continent of Atlantis, an outcast transvestite Indian… and the research I did to prove the existence of these lives—was the personal transformation taking place as a result of my using hypnosis.

It was the calming effect hypnosis had on my usually high-speed system that motivated me to learn self-hypnosis. And I began to use it in ways that ultimately changed my life.

I discovered that through self-hypnosis, I could change my attitude at the snap of two fingers, turning failure into success both in business and socially. I found I could heal my relationships through karmic release—forgiveness—and let go of those relationships that no longer belonged in my life. I’ve also performed some amazing physical healings on myself, others and animals.

Through the use of self-hypnosis, I’ve exchanged a lifelong tendency to blame for newfound trust and forgiveness. I love more than I fear. I no longer harbor anger until it starts eating away at me, but I experience it and then release it. I more easily recognize when I’m receiving a nudge from God (intuition) rather than from my ego.

Well, after working with Don for eight months, he suddenly died. With no reason now to write his book, I stored all of my notes away, but I continued to use the techniques he taught me. About eight months later, when I realized how profoundly my life had changed because of what Don Clark had taught me, I decided to write my own book.

Most fascinating are the incredible hypnotic accounts of past lives and my telling research to verify that these individuals lived.

Quest for Truth is available at my website as well as Amazon.com and through many other sources. http://www.matilijapress.com/questpage.html

I’ve decided that there are writers and then there are storytellers. Storytellers can spin a good yarn, as they say. But when it comes to writing, some of them have trouble penning a piece that their audience can follow. Many of them seem to have trouble grasping the concepts related to good, clear and concise writing.

I find that I can demonstrate and attempt to teach storytelling authors the difference between a muddy and a clear sentence, for example, while editing for them, and they continue to write muddy (complicated, awkward, run-on) sentences. I can point out the rules of good writing to my clients, and they still stick to their old writing habits. I can explain why something doesn’t work in their story or the dangers of inconsistencies in a story and they persist in using their same old approach.

Writers, on the other hand, tend to apply the techniques and rules I (as their editor) share with them. Someone with writing skills and a love for the process of writing is eager to learn more about it. They want to know how to improve their story or their nonfiction manuscript. A storyteller, who is more comfortable with how the words appear in their heads than on paper (or on the computer screen), aren’t as open to grasping the concept of readability. Some storyteller types expect the reader to imagine the story as they do. They don’t understand that, once the story is reduced to words on a page—without benefit of gestures and facial expressions—it must be presented in a form that makes sense to the reader. And the written word is a very different animal than the spoken (or imagined) word.

I’m sure that most of you (in particular, other book editors) have seen manuscripts/completed books that didn’t quite sell the story. As a reader, you sometimes got lost, were turned off by inconsistencies, couldn’t decipher some of the points or follow some of the scenarios. It’s a shame when an author, without excellent writing skill, ruins a perfectly good story.

Folks, whether you are a writer at heart or you simply have a story to tell. Please turn your manuscript over to a qualified book editor before you present it to your readers.

http://www.patriciafry.com
http://www.matilijapress.com

I wrote this while traveling a few years ago. My cats back home were on my mind. Today, however, I have one on my lap and another waiting in the wings for his turn. Here’s why I think pets are good for writers. Maybe you can add to this list. Leave a comment here.

• Having a pet is supposed to be good for us at such a deep level that their presence can have a positive effect on our heart health. It is proven, for example, that our blood pressure drops when we’re around plants or animals.

• Pets can make us feel good about ourselves. They may be the only beings on earth that can give unconditional love, after all.

• A pet prompts us to move. Dogs need walking. Cats require feeding, grooming, playtime, being let in/out, etc.

• Animals can be inspiring. I know many writers who write books, stories, articles, poems about their pets. And they can evoke thoughts and emotions that lead to new stories, poems, etc. (Since I wrote this bit, I have produced a charming book of cat stories: Catscapades, True Cat Tales, by Patricia Fry.)

• Pets teach us new things about ourselves. A cat, dog, horse, for example, can bring adventure, laughter, joy and, unfortunately, sorrow, into our lives—all emotions and experiences we can learn from.

Even the wild birds you feed outside our office windows, the interesting spider that has taken up residence on your ceiling or the quick lizard that scurries across your path each time you step outside can cause you to chuckle or marvel for brief moments throughout the work day. And any distraction or shift in mindset has the potential to affect your writing.

http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

Most of us, when we start writing, write for ourselves. We write to figure something out, to sort out some aspects of our life or to amuse ourselves. We write about something that’s bugging us or making us happy, perhaps.

It used to be that was enough—just to put down on paper the thoughts or stories that were dancing around in our heads or hearts. We kept our thoughts in journals. We wrote about them in letters to close friends. Only a few daring people shared their writings in articles or books.

Today, however, everyone wants to have their writing published. It doesn’t matter if it is good or bad, timely or old hat, rough or wonderfully written, meaningful or useless, it is being published.

One of the biggest problems I see with material that newby freelance writers and authors are writing is that they continue in “this is what I want to write—this is what I need to say,” mode instead of doing what a professional would do, write for his or her audience.

I advise my clients and students, who want to write successfully for publication, to stop writing for themselves and start writing for their audiences.

Sure, you might have a cause that is important to you. You want to share a message that is close to your heart. You can still do this—and even more effectively—if you think more about what your audience wants—what will benefit him or her—than what you need or want to tell them.

Maybe this will help:

• As you write, visualize members of your audience. Focus on them, their needs and desires and you may do a better job of writing the right article or book for the right audience—one that is more well-received.

• Determine, as you plan and write your article or book, how your audience would benefit from what you know or are interested in?

• Research your topic or the theme of your article or book before deciding to share your writings with the world. Is it a topic or a genre that would be welcomed by a segment of the population? Is it a popular genre? Is it a topic of interest to at least a strong niche of people? Has the topic been overdone? What can you bring to the table that is different, fresh, desired?

• Write to be understood. If it is fiction, make sure that your story is believable—not in the sense that it has to be true, but that it must be presented in a logical order and be consistent in the way the story is told. If it is nonfiction, your book or article must be organized logically and filled with useful information or material that is presented in a way that is easy to follow and digest.

Keep your audience in mind as you plan and write your book or article and you will more likely attract a publisher or editor and more readers.

Are you looking for a good online course where you get plenty of personal feedback and attention for your project? Sign up for one of my courses: Book Proposal Course, Memoir-Writing Workshop, Self-Editing Workshop, Book Promotion Course, Build Your Platform Course, Article-Writing Course or Self-Publishing Workshop.

http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

If you’re ready to start working with an editor on your book manuscript, learn more about my services here: http://www.patriciafry.com

Contact me here: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

Is your book engaging? As you write your fiction or nonfiction book, do you keep your audience in mind? Are you speaking specifically to your audience? Or are you just writing what you want to write—creating your book without any thought about your readers? If you are writing primarily for yourself, you could be shortchanging your readers.

How do you know when you are eliminating your audience from the equation as you write your book? One clue is your choice of titles. Does it reflect your desire to give and to share or is it a self-serving title? Examples of self-serving titles might be:

My Lifelong Struggles With Depression
The Cats I Love
Fifteen Reasons Why I Garden
Ketchup and Wine

If you have your audience in mind when choosing a title, you might use, instead:

Depression Hurt: Tips for Overcoming This Debilitating Illness
Cats You’ve Gotta Love
Fifteen Ways to Enjoy Your Garden in All Seasons
Cooking With Margaret: Comfort Foods for Winter Nights

Another indication that you are writing for the wrong audience (perhaps yourself) is when your information, instructions or story isn’t concrete or complete. When you’re writing for yourself, you tend to omit the obvious—some of the details. You write so that you understand it, but someone else reading it might not get the full impact of your message.

Whether you are writing your memoirs, a how-to or self-help book or a novel, forget about what you want to write. Determine your target audience and write directly to the reader who represents that segment of people.

I often tell writers, write as if you are explaining something or telling the story to someone from outer space.

When you sit down to write today, take a look at your manuscript. Are you writing something that will be of interest or value to others? Because of you don’t have an audience, you don’t have a market for your book and you will fail as a published author.

Who is your target (primary) audience for this book? Are you speaking to this audience as you write or are you leaving out and skimming over information, facts or aspects of your story that they need to know?

Look at your proposed title? Is it one that will catch the eye of your audience—that will resonate with him or her? Or is it a title you are attached to?

PLFry620@yahoo.com
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com