I am on a time crunch, LOL. 

At the end of 2024, I applied for a six-month commitment to Revision Lab. Now, I am on a deadline that pushes me to perform and focus on my memoir revision as much as possible. I’m preparing my manuscript for peer review. I know I am not there yet. 

The program started at the end of January, and we meet every two weeks for two hours. Revision Lab is precisely what I’ve been looking for. It challenges me to be more focused and persevere in creating a readable version of my memoir with a satisfying structure and stories where they belong.

Revision Lab began with the outline, which helped me clarify and expand the existing outline with a more comprehensive summary. The writing consultant assigned us homework: worksheets on character and story analysis, and I volunteered for my work to be discussed in class. I loved how a deeper dive into my story became practical to consider during the revision process.

Where am I currently with my revision process?

In the previous Confession of a Memoirist, I had an aha moment to remove tidbits (misplaced stories) to refine my existing structure, track my progress, and break some revision goals down even further. 

And I can finally celebrate that all 42 pages of tidbits found their place in my memoir. However, nothing is set in stone. That is the reality of writing a book. 

I’ve been reading one chapter at a time aloud, taking notes, and making quick adjustments to improve my story flow. No wasting time or brain space editing on the sentence level. Trust me, my hands are itching to do so. Currently, it’s all about the big picture, and this summer, I will shift my focus to working my way down to the finer details. As of now, I refer to my manuscript draft as number two.

I approach this revision process with curiosity rather than dread, consistently working on changing my mindset and perspective. I’ve got this.

My story is emerging. After completing each chapter, I celebrate with a little dance.

Here is a peek into my journaling on my memoir revision progress:

I sat to work on my memoir for an hour, reading and making notes on Chapter 5. This chapter has so many settings and not many scenes, but who cares? I need to figure out how to weave tidbits and other memories and make them flow. I made it to page 23 of 33. Tomorrow, I need to figure out a better approach to tackle that chapter so I can move on to the next one, hopefully by Thursday or Friday.

My deadline is my birthday, April 24. Not much time. Then, I’ll take a break from revising for two weeks when my peers read my memoir and provide me with verbal and written feedback. It’s exciting and scary. 

I better go back to revising so I can accomplish my goal. Wish me good luck.