Write for Yourself
Getting started with List Your Life: A Modern-Day Memoir was the absolute most difficult part of the entire project. It was not until I heard the words, "Write for yourself" that I found the freedom to begin writing. Once I decided that I was going to write just for me, with no intention of pleasing anyone else, I was able to focus and progress. But that start, it was torture.
I had so many excuses to avoid writing. I struggled with the direction of my project: fact or fiction. I couldn't even determine that! I had so many story starts and numerous journal entries that probably had some potential, but none of them inspired me to move beyond early drafts. I floated through fantasies and stories and situations and events, but clarity only came once I arrived at the idea of writing for me and allowing myself to think about what would make me happy - what would bring me joy.
With that surge of enlightenment, I realized how much I would enjoy creating a gift of writing. As soon as I took the emphasis off what I thought I "should" write, I found my path. A peaceful, confident tone came over me and remained until the work was done and the writing sent for final print. I wrote each day considering how I would feel when I shared the work with those I was honoring in the book. Knowing that they would read those words gave me a purpose and unleashed the excitement necessary to undertake this monumental writing project.
List Your Life: A Modern-Day Memoir gave me the opportunity to collect my memories and give those I love a gift as a means to express my thanks for how they have shaped me in all the roles of my life. Considering the possibilities for the final form of LYL, I am so pleased that I found a comfortable place from which to write.
