WRITING MEMOIR

Honestly, when writing a long book (60k or more), especially a memoir, I do not see how it can be done in six months, as my publisher suggests.

The amount of time I am trying to cover in my new book brings with it so many  different factors, that  putting it all together in just six months would be next to impossible, For example: the text, the setting, the story, the structure, the style, the research, the crafting to name a few all vary among time periods and various characters.

I am tackling quite a long period of time and I may find that I have to narrow it down. The book is divided into three parts, the first part is set in the early 1900s, the second takes place between 1952-1992, and the third covers evens occurring  from 1992-the present. This is an expanse of ninety-two years.

Although there is a common thread that holds it all together, each part requires separate historic research for that period of time. And this is not fiction; I cannot just make stuff up whenever I come to a roadblock. The story must retain a basic truth, even though I am allowed a little leeway in character development, dialogue, and evolution of events.

One last thing, I cannot use a formula to get me through quickly when it comes to writing about myself and my family and the various events surrounding us. Some of the events occurred so long ago that my memory needs to be constantly jostled. There are few records, no notes, and only my sister and two daughters, who weren't even born until Part Two of the book, to help me recall. It's moving along slowly, but no matter how difficult dredging up old stuff may is, this is what I do.....   I write memoir.