I was talking to a friend about how I felt my memoir had stalled the last couple of months. My life has more stability after the divorce, a far cry from the throes of the separation, but I don’t feel I’ve had my big moment yet, the one that ties everything together and proves to the readers that I made it through.

I didn’t have my cheetah moment (Untamed). I didn’t get in anywhere fancy (Educated). I didn’t publish a poem that led to a book deal, that saved my house (You Could Make This Place Beautiful). And my friend stopped me. She asked why a memoir couldn’t end in limbo, with only the hope of a better future, the view still out of sight. Who says it needs to end with closure?

This who says is something I teach in my memoir courses, and yet, I was still letting the mythical they lead my creative path.

Maybe my memoir is about the messy truth – in reality, nothing is completely easy and perfect in the end, not really. Not off the page. What if I show that, what if I let that be the story?

I’ve started writing about the past year again, from the perspective that things can change, slowly, and with the hope I have that things will get better.

I ask you to join me and write it honestly as you have lived it. Write for yourself, and for those that need to read it.

Recommendation:

I have noticed that some of you are still submitting work without self-editing some of these things out of your manuscript. Save yourself some time and $ by going through this free resource before submitting your work to me, beta readers, critique partners, or editor who isn’t me.

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