The Memoir Blueprint: How to Stop Overthinking and Start Writing
Ever feel like your story doesn’t matter as much as someone else’s? Like you’re too late, too ordinary, too tangled up in doubts to write a book that anyone would care about?
I’ve been there.
As a memoir mentor and someone who’s walked the long, winding road from scribbling in the dark to holding my published book in my hands, I want to offer you a truth I’ve learned again and again:
You don’t need permission. You just need a place to begin.
And maybe, a little courage.
A seat at the table—and the page
Years ago, I was invited to dinner with my husband Rick (then the mayor of St. Pete) and Gen. Lloyd Austin and his wife Charlene at their home on MacDill Air Force Base. I figured it’d be an intimate dinner.
Instead, there were twelve of us. And surprise! Spouses weren’t seated together. Each of us had to introduce ourselves.
By the time they got to me—the twelfth person—I’d heard a lineup of impressive titles: generals, ambassadors, high-ranking officials. Me? I was a public relations manager… and a volunteer puppy raiser.
I remember thinking, “Is that enough?”
But here’s what I know now: your story doesn’t need a title to be powerful. It just needs to be true.
That night helped me begin to own my story. It prepared me for the moment years later when a friend nudged me to start writing a memoir about my life as a political spouse. At first, I said no. I didn’t feel brave enough. Or interesting enough.
But I wrote it anyway.
That memoir, Accidental First Lady, opened doors I never expected—and now I teach other aspiring authors how to do the same.
How writing workshops serve as poignant reminders
Just last week, I joined six strangers for a writing workshop called Beauty in the Wilds. We met inside a creaky old house turned creative sanctuary next to a papery (yes, paper heaven). Around a wooden table, we talked not about plot or grammar—but about what it means to be human and honest.
The breath worker had lost a child. The therapist had lost her church. The artist threw tea parties for her family. The retired colonel raised five children with his teacher wife.
Our stories weren’t polished. But they were real. And that’s what made them unforgettable.
Overthinking Is the dream killer
Overthinking is the enemy of every aspiring memoirist.
We convince ourselves we’re not ready. We stall. We research. We organize our sticky notes into color-coded chaos. And we never write a word.
You don’t need more overthinking.
You need a memoir blueprint.
Start with a writing prompt
Before you tell yourself you don’t have time (you do), try this:
Mini Memoir Prompt:
Think back to a moment when you felt invisible—or underestimated.
What did you want to say but didn’t?
What would happen if you wrote that moment with radical honesty today?
Set a timer for 10 minutes. Let it pour out. Forget the grammar. Forget being “good.” Be brave instead.
Want a little more help?
I’m hosting a free 1-hour workshop called: The Memoir Blueprint: How to Stop Overthinking and Start Writing
It’s for you if:
You’ve been thinking about writing a memoir for years
You’ve written in journals or blogs and wonder if it’s “book-worthy”
You’re overwhelmed by where to start (or even IF you should)
We’ll cover:
✅ A simple roadmap to begin your memoir
✅ What makes a story truly compelling (hint: it’s not fame or trauma)
✅ Why your voice—raw, vulnerable, and imperfect—is exactly what someone else needs to hear
It’s free. It’s friendly. And it might just be the sign you’ve been waiting for.
Sign up here → The Memoir Blueprint
Let me leave you with this
You don’t need to be a celebrity, a war hero, or a Pulitzer Prize winner to write a memoir that matters.
You just need to believe that your life—your beautifully complicated, ordinary-extraordinary life—is worth writing down.
Because it is.
And you are.
See you in the workshop. I’ll bring the roadmap. You bring the heart.
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