Christopher Bennett

Memoir Reflections

Chris Bennett

Are We There Yet?

I’m looking forward to wrapping up the fourth draft of my memoir. I have two chapters to complete and then I’ll start the fifth draft.

Once I complete the fifth draft, which I hope to do in the next few weeks, I’ll hand over the manuscript to my editor for feedback.

I’m sure she will ‘pick the bones’ out of it so I can further polish the manuscript.

I’ve decided to devote at least four days per week writing so I can get this project completed. I started writing it ten years ago!

The other day of the week I’ve put aside to run two businesses 🙂

My aim is to get the memoir published by the end of this year, not just for my sake but for for the sake of all those people who keep asking me ‘have you finished the memoir?’

I’m not there yet but I will be.

Image courtesy of Tommy Lisbin via Unsplash

The Big Picture in Small Words

I created this board of system cards to get an over view of the memoir I’m currently writing.

Each card contains a chapter heading and subheadings for vignettes that I have written.

The cards in this picture do not show the text for privacy reasons.

I place this board on the side of my writing table, about waist high. The system cards are pinned to the cork board and show the text.

It’s refreshing to look at this board every now and again and not get bogged down into details from my journal of notes.

As I’ve worked on the memoir I’ve changed the order of a couple of cards and changed some chapter titles to get a better sense of flow for the memoir. And there probably will be further tweaking as I write the next draft.

Sometimes I just gaze at the board and new ideas pop into my head.

I’ll certainly use the board for future writing projects as it has been very helpful to get the big picture using small words.

Fitzroy Raw

‘Fitzroy Raw‘, author Tom Petsinis’ new novel, has recently been published.

I haven’t read it yet but I am looking forward to doing so as it covers my old stomping ground of Fitzroy during the 1960s.

I met Tom at a reading he gave in the Fitzroy library back in 2011. We had a chat afterwards and I told him about the memoir I was and still am writing, and we arranged to catch up for a coffee and a chat at Fitz cafe in Fitzroy, corner of Kerr Street and Brunswick Street.

Just sitting outside the cafe and looking around brought back a lot memories for me. In the 1960s, the Fitz cafe was Frank Dempsey’s butcher shop and a few doors down was where I once lived.

Fitzroy back in those days was raw but it also had a strong sense of community.

Don’t Chuck it in the Bin – Yet

Well, I’ve had some positive feedback on the fourth draft of my memoir from my editor so I won’t chuck it in the bin just yet.

She’s going to recommend some chapter titles and themes which will make it easier for me to start the fifth draft.

There are two chapters in my current draft that are each over 20,000 words long that need to be reduced into several chapters to make the memoir more readable.

Once I have the chapter titles and themes in place I can then start to craft the memoir by focusing on one chapter at a time.

This stage of writing is going to be enjoyable as just about all the research has been completed and vignettes written.

It’s been a long ten year journey to get this stage but I ‘m closer to the end of this project than the beginning.

Image courtesy of Steve Johnson via Unsplash

Done and Almost Dusted

One more writing session and I’ll have completed the fourth draft of my memoir.

Then I’ll dust a few bits off, print it out and hand over a copy to my editor for feedback.

This draft has knocked the memoir into a linear shape and I intend to take a break from writing for about three weeks before I start the fifth draft.

I need the break so I can come back to it with a fresh mind and also assess the feedback before I start to focus on structure and chapter headings.

Once I have an effective structure in place I can then hone the stories in the memoir so it’s not only readable but also engages the reader.

Easy said than done but that’s what writing drafts are all about.