Crafting a compelling memoir means that you write with focus and intent. Your memoir isn’t just a list of things that have happened to you, rather it’s a narrative of how you navigated your life and what you’ve learned as a result. But sometimes, finding that center—that “So what” factor—can make us feel lost and uncertain. But finding that purpose is so much more simple than you realize. Let’s talk about it.

This term is having a moment in the pop culture zeitgeist at the time this blog post goes live. While I’m at an age where I no longer am tuned into any of the current slang, this term stuck with me.

Main character energy.

The question is, How are you showing up as the main character in your own writing life? Let’s talk about it.

The read of 2024 for The Memoir Method Podcast is Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder. This memoir is about the acute grief of losing a mother to cancer. She introduces us to her mother, takes us through her mom’s cancer diagnosis and death, and through both the rituals and non-linear experiences of deep grief. Most of these podcast conversations will be happening with my friend and fellow reader and writer Ginny Walters, who lost her own mother in 2021.

As soon as this idea lit up in my mind I knew I had to follow through. So I grabbed a notepad and brainstormed all the things I could potentially write about my grandma and my relationship with her. I don’t have a single word written of a single essay at the time this blog post goes live, but when the idea struck, I moved.

Maybe you’ve had ideas drop into your mind, and because you’re not in a season of writing or are new to the craft or think you have to have all everything figured out before you write, you don’t know what to do with that idea. It feels like holding onto water—so let’s reframe this.

When I looked at the different elements that came into play to breathe new life into my writing life last year, it all boiled down to one thing: community.