5 Questions Every Aspiring Memoirist Asks Before They Begin

Have you ever wondered:
– Am I really a writer?
– Is my story worth telling?
– What if I start and never finish?
– Is it too late for me to write a memoir?

In this episode, Kerry shares the five biggest questions aspiring memoirists ask before they begin writing—and the deeper fears often hiding beneath those questions.

This heartfelt conversation explores:
✨ why memoir writing feels so vulnerable
✨ the myth that only “real writers” can write books
✨ why information overload keeps aspiring authors stuck
✨ the emotional side of memoir writing
✨ perfectionism, procrastination, and unfinished drafts
✨ why ordinary stories matter deeply
✨ and why it’s never too late to begin telling your story

If you’ve been quietly carrying the dream of writing a memoir, this episode is your reminder that your experiences matter—and your voice deserves a place on the page.

Resources Mentioned:

✨ Make Memoir Magic Course: LEARN MORE HERE
✨ Kerry’s memoir: Accidental First Lady: On the Front Lines (and Behind the Scenes) of Local Politics
✨ Join the Make Memoir Magic Facebook Group: CLICK HERE

Connect with Kerry:

Website: https://www.kerrykriseman.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kerry.kriseman

If this episode encouraged you, please share it with another aspiring author and leave a review—it helps more memoir writers find the show.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Making Memoir Magic. To learn more about my course, Make Memoir Magic, click here. 

Join my free Facebook Group, Memoir Magic for Aspiring Authors, where we honor your story, provide tips, create community, and help you write the story you were meant to tell. Join here!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Making Memoir Magic, the podcast where we unlock the power of your story and guide you through the magical process of turning life experiences into memoirs that inspire and impact. I'm your host, Carrie Chrysman, a memoir mentor and storytelling champion, and I'm here to help you find the courage to embrace your unique story and share it with the world. Whether you're just starting out or refining your final draft, this is the place to be for practical tips, inspiration, and the encouragement you need to write the memoir Only You Can Tell. Ready to make some magic? Let's dive in. Hello friends, and welcome back to the podcast. Today I want to talk about something a little different. Not memoir craft, not scene structure, not publishing strategy. I want to talk about the questions that people ask before they ever truly begin writing their memoir. Because over the years, when I have taught aspiring authors through my course or in workshops or even speaking to groups, I've realized something important. Most aspiring memoirists are not struggling because they lack stories. They're struggling because they're carrying fear, hesitation, self-doubt, and uncertainty. And honestly, that makes sense. Memoir writing is vulnerable work. And it asks us to look backward before we can move forward. It asks us to revisit sometimes tough moments that are hard to, you know, face again sometimes, but relevant to the story that we're telling. They ask us to revisit the moments that we thought we had buried. Um, and it asks us to turn our lived experiences into something meaningful. So all of that is really brave work. And today, in this episode, I'm going to walk you through five of the biggest questions that aspiring memoirists ask before they begin. And maybe you'll even see yourself a little more clearly in this process because maybe when you hear the questions that I'm going to address, the ones I hear most often, you'll say, Oh, that's me. I do that. I'm not the only one. I understand how I can move through it. Hopefully, something like that will go through your head and it will help you on your journey to becoming an author of memoir. So grab your coffee, take a deep breath, and let's talk about it. So the first question that aspiring memoirists ask themselves is what if I'm not really a writer? So, yes, that is very familiar and it is common. Um, and it's basically the anthem of every aspiring author who's sat down to write a book. Well, I don't, you know, consider myself a writer. I didn't go to school for writing, and you know, people mean, you know, they think that they need to have studied writing, or they think they don't know enough grammar, or that they're not literary enough or well read enough, or that they don't sound sophisticated. So all of those things are myths that keep you from writing your memoir. Meanwhile, they have survived heartbreak, reinvention, motherhood, caregiving, grief, addiction, faith crises, political campaigns, cancer, loss, joy, resilience, an entire lifetime's worth of experiences. So, yes, writing is a skill, but storytelling, storytelling is deeply human, and you don't need permission to write about your life. You don't need a fancy degree, you don't need a fancy office, you don't need to wear linen while dramatically typing beside a rain-covered window with music playing and your tea brewing next to you, that image that you may conjure in your head or see on social media of the writer. What you do need is honesty, you need curiosity, and you need the willingness to begin, and you need to make an agreement with yourself that you're going to let it be messy at first. So every author goes through that, and every piece of writing is a little messy, and then it's beautiful, then it gets edited a little bit, sometimes it gets thrown out, sometimes it gets pared way down from a chapter to a paragraph, but that's part of the process. So all of the polished authors, the best-selling authors that you admire, they didn't begin that way. Okay, they began as someone who was brave enough to sit down and tell the truth. So the second question that every aspiring memoirist asks themselves is can't I just learn this for free online? Like, can I learn how to write a memoir for free online? Technically, you can. Okay, I'm not gonna tell you that it's not possible. There is endless free information online, like YouTube, blogs, podcasts like this. But are you gonna learn everything you need about writing a memoir from listening to this one episode? Or even if you were my most faithful listener? Absolutely not. You're not gonna learn it from social media posts of people pointing at captions and doing dances and publishing 10-slide carousels. Um, all of that is helpful, but it's not gonna teach you how to write a memoir. And so I love free resources as much as anyone, and I think you should definitely look at free resources from sources that you trust, that you connect with, but there comes a point when consuming information starts masquerading as progress, okay? You have a PhD in learning and nothing in writing, um, and that's not gonna get your memoir written, okay? Don't keep watching videos, don't keep saving all the posts, don't download another free PDF. Um, it's not gonna get your memoir written. Why? Because information alone rarely creates the kind of momentum that you need to write your memoir. Um, what does create the momentum you need? Structure, guidance, uh, support, and accountability. Most aspiring memoirs don't need more information. They need someone to show them where to start, show them where to focus, tell them when they're overthinking and not writing, tell them to keep going and cheering them on to the finish line. That's the difference between endlessly researching memoir writing and actually becoming someone who writes a memoir. So honestly, I think a lot of people hide inside the research because beginning feels scary. Research feels productive, writing feels vulnerable. There's a big difference. So the third question that every aspiring memoirist asks themselves before they write a memoir is what if I start and don't finish? So that one hits home for a lot of people. I can't tell you how many aspiring authors have told me they've got boxes of pages they've written, outlines they've made, ideas, years of writing, and they have uh no books or book or a book to show for it. Um, you know, that's that's common, but it doesn't have to be your result, it doesn't have to be your story. And I understand that if you are in this category, and for those who are listening or that I may have talked to that are like that, there is no shame in that. But here's what I want you to understand: not finishing something in the past does not mean that you're incapable of finishing it in the future. Okay, you just need a structure, and that's probably why you've stopped writing. Uh, maybe you've become overwhelmed, maybe perfectionism is creeping in, maybe life is getting super, super busy, and all of that creates an emotional weight that catches up to you. So memoir isn't just writing, it's remembering, revisiting, reclaiming, and all of that is emotionally demanding work. So, what I teach when I talk with aspiring authors is how to work through that, how to create structures that you put in place that don't let you get overwhelmed, that allow you to make progress and finish your memoir. So, and that's why support matters so much. Because sometimes the difference between someone who finishes a memoir and someone who doesn't is simply having encouragement in the middle, the messy middle, the uncertain middle, the why did I think I could do this middle? Um, every meaningful creative project has one. So we're getting there. Got two more questions that I'm gonna share with you all. So keep those earbuds in, keep watching, keep listening, however, you're consuming this. Question number four: how do I know if my story is worth telling? Now, this really could have been question number one, but lately I've been hearing from people who are thinking, I'm not a writer, so which is not true. And I put that as number one. But so many aspiring authors say, How do I know if my story is worth telling? So this is hard to hear because I was once there and I do understand where you're coming from, if you have ever thought that. And my wish for you is that you would never think that again. But I know that the reality is that it's a writing is an act of bravery. And when you actually think about what it means to put your words out there and your stories, it can be scary and it can make you wonder, should you even be doing this? So people tend to believe that stories only matter if they're dramatic enough, traumatic enough, famous enough, or extraordinary enough. But memoir is not about fame. All right. I think most people want to read about someone that they can identify with, and most of us cannot identify with the famous people. Now, it doesn't go to say that we don't read memoirs written by famous people, but a lot of those famous people have others writing it with them or for them. Um, so just keep that in mind. A memoir is your story, and someone is going to see themselves in your story. It's like a mirror. They're going to read your words and say, That's me. I understand. He or she understands because she's writing about it, and this is how they handled it. So maybe I can do that or learn something from their experience. Memoirs about meaning, because some of the most powerful memoirs are the quietest ones. They're stories about extraordinary lives that have been lived with extraordinary courage. They might be a family story, a marriage, a season of caregiving, a loss, a reinvention, a community, a personal awakening. Any of these things and more. Those are just a few examples. And your story matters because it's human. And chances are that there is someone out there who desperately needs the wisdom that you've earned by surviving or navigating or thriving throughout your life. So I don't want you to ever underestimate the power of shared humanity. Sometimes a memoir simply needs someone else to feel less alone. And that is what really matters. So the final question that I'm going to address today, and there's always going to be more, um, that aspiring authors ask themselves about their memoir is is it too late for me? Okay, that's a common question we ask throughout our lives. We think we've missed the boat, we think we've, you know, can't go back and um, you know, try something that we've been wanting to do our whole lives. Um, so you're not too late to begin, you're not too late to dream, and you're never too late to write and become the person that finally finishes the book. So I agree, and actually I would argue that life experience is one of the greatest assets a memoirist can have. Because you have perspective now, you have nuance and wisdom and context, and you understand things today that your younger self couldn't possibly have understood while living through them. So that's where memoir gets its depth. So honestly, I think many people reach a season of their life and they suddenly realize if I don't tell these stories, they may disappear. So, and that realization matters, okay? If it's that urging, that nagging, then it's up to you to listen to it and act on it. Um, and that's what I help writers do. Uh, and um it's my honor to shepherd them through this process because actually, memoir writing is about more than publishing, okay. It is wonderful to publish your book and it absolutely should be published, and um, but it's about preservation, okay, and preserving memory and truth and legacy and your voice. So, and it's not too late, all right? So, never too late. Today is the best day for you to start, today's the best day for you to finish, and I encourage you to keep going. So, if you've carried the idea of writing a memoir quietly in your heart for years, uh maybe this podcast episode is your reminder that you don't need to feel perfectly ready before you begin. You just need to begin. You need to be messy and honest and start with one memory at a time. So if this episode resonated with you, I would love for you to share it with another aspiring author. I'd love for you to give it a rating. I truly appreciate ratings. Um and just take it in, listen to it again, write down these five questions and what they mean to you, and think about those answers when you're feeling dejected or stressed, or maybe imposter syndrome is creeping in. Um just these are just some really good things to think about as you are on your writing journey. And if you would like support and coaching and guidance, just check the link in the bio, not in the bio, I'm sorry, in the show notes, because my Make Memoir Magic cohort of students is starting their next round of my course May 18th. And if for some reason you're listening to this after May 18th, you can comment memoir, you can get on my wait list, but for now, if you want to get in this cohort, check that link, save your seat, enroll. I can't wait to welcome you in. And until next time, keep writing, keep remembering, and keep believing that your story matters. Thank you for joining me on this episode of Making Memoir Magic. I hope today's conversation inspired you to take the next step toward telling your unique story through memoir. Remember, your story matters and someone out there is waiting to read it. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. It helps others find the show. You can also connect with me on my website at caryCreisman.com, on Instagram at carrie. And each Wednesday, I host a memoir magic writing where you get to join other writers to accomplish the often arduous task of getting words on the page. Until next time, keep writing, keep sharing, and keep making memoir magic.