Since my last Confession of a Memoirist, my revision journey has taken many dramatic turns. I have had to find more innovative ways to approach my memoir, untangle my muddy process, and emerge from the murky middle.

But let’s review my original goal for the year and its reality.

Realistic Expectations

My revision stage started at the beginning of 2024. 

Every year, I said, “This is the year I will publish my memoir.” With time, I’ve learned I can’t rush the writing process because it also involves healing.

So, this year, my goal became what seemed more doable but not reachable—I wanted to bring my memoir to a ready-to-be-published state. 

As always, life got in the way, and having no writing community to support me in this treacherous revision process slowed me down from reaching my goal. However, I don’t give up and show up for my memoir regardless. 

Memoir Stumble

After my last Confession of a Memoirist, I juggled a couple of stories, pretending to know what I was doing, just to realize that, in reality, I had no idea where to start. 

When I scanned through my manuscript, I freaked out. What a mess! A shitload of misplaced stories stared at me, and I stared back, unsure how to handle them. They cluttered my memoir structure, preventing me from proceeding further.

I sought answers to pivotal questions. 

Storyline: Aargh! Where do I even start, and how often do I start and restart? What are the pinpoints or highlights that move my story forward?

Sometimes, I play with stories already typed into my memoir. Some will call this avoiding the actual task of revising. I tweak and re-tweak stories and expand while bringing back sweet childhood memories, like dreaming of becoming a seamstress and marrying a rich guy, like in the telenovela “Just Maria.”

Expanding specific scenes felt like avoiding, and I was uninspired to keep digging. What if that scene didn’t end up in my memoir after all the final edits? There is a long way to go.

Untangling

To keep revising, I switched to what looked beneficial and helped me to get clarity: answering questions about significant events, what was at stake, and other details. 

The latest process helped to highlight “must” scenes (I refer to them as bones) that create my story. Again, I was restructuring my memoir, hopefully for good. It seemed I found my focus, especially with new strategies in place.

I began recording my revision progress to acknowledge the accomplishment of my goals. You know that feeling when you are busy all day but can’t recall what you did? That’s me.

Vacation was approaching, so I rolled my sleeves up to focus on my memoir again.

Once satisfied with my new outline—three parts, twelve chapters, and 29 stories—I printed it and moved on to the next stage.

Hallelujah and the Baby Steps!

Talking to my writing mentor gave me another breakthrough. Sometimes, all we need is to talk to someone willing to listen. The idea was to break one goal into smaller steps, and the process started.

It was time for the scariest thing—butchering my manuscript.

The unmistakable outline gave me direction—the structure for now. I stripped the chapters to the bare bones—just what the outline says. I solved the mystery of misplaced stories by transferring them into separate documents. 

Hallelujah! The revision process of my memoir is going in the right direction because I recognized how to break small goals even smaller. I made them as basic as possible to the “highlight, copy, and paste” steps.

Tracking my accomplishments, jotting down the next revision steps, and breaking them down became helpful strategies. I’ve also been experimenting with a cube timer. I set it for 15-20 minutes or longer and then take a stretch or a tea break.

I love this untangling adventure of memoir revision. Let’s see what comes next.