Memoir Revision Diaries (Week 7)
Surviving wild weather, hitting 12,929 words, and taking on new editing projects
I don’t think it mattered where you lived this week. We all got some kind of weather that rattled the usual routine. It could have been treacherous rains and flooding, bitter cold, and snow. Hell, it could have been all three. That’s what we got here in northern New Jersey.
We started with rain, then switched to snow, then back to rain, and finally, more snow. Now we’re nearing the end of a cold streak. We had a few delayed openings and early dismissals at work, which made me go a little mad with scheduling certain tasks, but I got a good amount done.
Despite the intense week of weather and cleaning up from it–we got water in our basement again–I managed to make some progress on my memoir.
As of today, this revision sits at 12,929 words and I’m nearing the end of my high school experience. It’s exciting knowing I have a few more chapters left before I move on to the next few years of my life.
What I love about writing a memoir is how it forces you to view experiences from not just an internal, but also an external perspective.
For example, during a certain conversation that I’m about to revise, I remember how I felt and parts of the general chat. But now I need to present it as a scene for the reader to be a witness of themselves and ensure the dialogue provides enough context alongside the setting. It’s challenging but also exhilarating. Internal and external.
Musical Interlude
This week’s song comes from a band I’ve been listening to for years and that is Linkin Park. I still remember the day when Chester Bennington left this world. Always brings a tear to my eye.
“Fighting Myself” is a song about struggling with your thoughts and emotions, especially the negative ones.
This comes up a lot in my memoir, as I constantly dealt with feelings that something was wrong with me. With the way I thought, felt, and shied away from relationships that everyone else was chasing. It took me a long time to overcome those negative thoughts and so this song represents that journey beautifully.
My goal this coming week is much of the same. Work on my memoir at least four to five times a week for 30 to 60 minutes. I’ve been recently using my lunch hour to review the chapter I’m revising. I’ll jot down notes about what I want to do when I sit down to write later that night. It gives me a blueprint so I’m not wasting time figuring that out beforehand.
I feel confident that by the end of this week, I’ll be on the last chapter of my high school section, but we’ll see. As I’ve said in previous posts, progress is progress.
What are you going to be working on this week?
Until next time,
💜 J
P.S. I am open to new editing projects. If you have a query (fiction or nonfiction), synopsis, or book proposal you would like to get a second pair of eyes on, feel free to book one of my services. I take on limited projects so make sure to book yours when you’re ready.