Staying the Course
even a meandering one
In January I had planned on applying for a professional development grant through the state that, if I’d been awarded it, was going to hire a mentor/coach to help me develop my memoir-in-progress. I had a rough rough draft in the works, and at this point half of a second rough draft, so I thought would be perfect for sharing pages, getting feedback, and revising with this talented coach over the course of six months. In addition, I was going to tack on a little personal writing retreat at my favorite retreat location: The Highlights Foundation. Because I’m newer to memoir writing–at least in full book form versus short articles/essays like this–I’d hoped it would take my craft and experience to a new level.
And then we got a new president. (I’m hearing a long, nails-on-chalkboard record scratch, anyone else?)
Why should that matter, you ask? I won’t bother getting into the weeds on that, because IYKYK, and if you don’t you should probably read more, but needless to say I decided against applying for the grant. It was clear there would be no guarantee of those funds being released even if I was awarded them. Anyone who has written a grant proposal knows how much work goes into preparing one, and I would have had to include the person I was going to work with in on that process. I didn’t want to rope her into extra work that had no promise of coming to fruition either. And then, in a matter of a few weeks, it seemed my focus might shift again with the interest of a new agent, which, as per my last post, you all know DID come to fruition.
They say it’s important to stay the course, which I agree is true, but sometimes the course can shift a little bit and you have to be ready! Maybe that’s because the writing course—at least for me—is just a meandering path all the time.
Even though I’m now solidly in the middle of a rewrite for a speculative young adult novel, my memoir still beckons. It’s a special story for me, one that even if it isn’t published, I want to be good. I can imagine having it printed just for the sake of making it permanent, immortalized, if you will. Like a journal, but with nicer packaging and hella better handwriting. It’s a story about two writers falling in love, a story about claiming my life for myself, and how cancer brought many of my life choices into focus in an urgent, immediate way–presenting a crossroads in our love story that I never saw coming.
It was, perhaps, the first time I saw a clear narrative arc of a theme in my life, and that’s what a memoir must have. Often people think a memoir is something you write at the end of your life, encompassing cradle to near-grave details, but that’s not always the case, or even much of the case anymore. A memoir is a story-container and the tighter that story, the smaller the container, the more effective it is at touching other people’s lives as well. This is where I want help now, making my container even smaller and detailed so that it will be poignant to more people than just me and my husband.
This is one of the things I love about 2025. You can find nearly everything you want/need online, so even if you live in a very rural area like I do, or if you’re a busy parent or working full time and can’t get away, there are so many resources out there. Highlights Foundation is a big one if you’re writing in the children’s category, and I have done many classes and workshops with them over the years, but I needed to find something new for memoir/writing for adults. Since the grant is out for now, and a second MFA in Creative Nonfiction is out forever, sadly, I’m going to piece together my second (actually third) education myself, starting with this class from Reedsy: Writing a Bestselling Memoir in 2025, next Thursday, May 22, at 3pm EST.
I’ve used Reedsy over the years quite frequently, from searching for publishers, editors and agents, to launching my book Monolith on their Discovery platform for indie authors. I’ve never been disappointed with them. This will be the first class I take through their learning platform and I look forward to giving you all a report! Because guess what? They are actually affordable! (Whereas Highlights, frankly, is getting rough.) And I love recommending opportunities that are both quality and realistic for working writers such as myself. If anyone else is writing a memoir or any kind of creative nonfiction, really, maybe I’ll see you at the class next week! Let me know if you attend.
And in the meantime, happy writing!