Worried you're writing too many words in your memoir?

Kia ora memoir writer,
How is your story coming along?

A few days ago I was talking with a memoir student who has really found her flow as she writes. She says she sits down to work on it, and hours later she emerges, reluctantly! Some days it’s hard for her to stop.

She’s enjoying herself, though she worries she’s writing too much.

I understand the concern about writing too much. I really do. And I still think it’s good to let that story come, just as it needs to, for that first draft. She can prune it back later, during the editing stage.

Stories start out like big lumps of clay, and over time we craft them into something beautiful. And that takes time, care and patience. But you’ve gotta start with the raw material.

So today I want to cheer you on. Keep writing. You can sculpt it later.

Charlotte x

PS it’s official, I’m offering a Write Your Memoir workshop in Wellington, New Zealand, on Saturday November 18. You need to enrol in my course Write Your Memoir to join in and get started on that book you’ve been meaning to write!

PPS For those in the top of the South Island, New Zealand, we’ve set the date for our Tākaka spring memoir workshop. These workshops are to offer students the opportunity to connect with each other, to help people with any challenges, and to keep folk on track (we set little goals). This will be held at a student’s house. Once again, you need to enrol in Write Your Memoir to join us.