Writing a memoir is one of the most rewarding, fulfilling, and meaningful things you can do–for yourself and for your readers. Yet to accomplish this exciting goal, you’re required to manage several components at once: knowing and applying writing craft and skill, intuiting the best structure and organizing principle for the work, and holding yourself accountable and upholding a schedule to ensure you get the writing done even on the days when you’d rather do anything but.
Ask any writer who managed to complete their book what it was that got them through, and every one of them will say personal guidance and support from someone who could invest in their process and progress.
Our Write Your Memoir in 4 Months Program provides hands-on mentorship, guides you through the writing with step-by-step instruction on the many craft elements that make up memoir, and puts you on a clear custom-designed schedule that accommodates your lifestyle, so you are able to successfully write your book from start to finish– and in only 4 months.
If you’ve been wanting to write your memoir for a long time and haven’t been able to make yourself start—or stick it out to the end—know that our personal support, carefully designed infrastructure, resources, and insights will make sure you do.
This program level comes with mentor meetings every other week. The continuous but spaced-out contact with your mentor is a budget-friendly option while still helping keep your motivation high and your mentor connection consistent.
Full regular contact with your mentor ensures you stay the course, keep your energy high, and have ready access to their insights and suggestions that help guide your process and the draft’s development. The weekly contact helps you and your mentor forge a healthy intimate relationship, gives them a close look into your project, and will sustain you into the editing once the program is done!
Our self-guided option for the motivated writer lets the lessons, resources, and downloads guide your way. Access our private Facebook group to ask questions and get advice on your book-in-progress and add individual mentor hours any time you feel you need a boost!
$236/month
$324/month
$136/month
• Mentorship & 24/7 Interaction with Peer Writers
Weekly & Bi-Weekly Mentorship Program: At the end of your initial trial week, you’re matched with the most appropriate mentor from our Creative Team. Use your 30-minute meetings to discuss your process and talk through issues of the story or its development, and get resources, insights, and writing strategies to help you keep going.
In your private team on our editors’ platform, you can also ask questions, ask for help, or reach out for any reason to get support.
All Program Tiers: Having 24/7 access to our private Facebook group, the One Lit Place Writers Lounge, means you can always reach out to fellow writers, invaluable for discussing the writing life, asking questions, or simply sharing in the experience of being writers.
• Comprehensive Education in Memoir Writing Craft, Issues of Nonfiction, and the Construction of a Narrative
Over 20 program lessons, you’ll be guided through establishing a strong foundation for the book, learn outlining best practices and understanding the phases that go into writing a memoir and how to handle real life on the page, and gain deep insight on plot, character, structure and more.
You’ll also learn how to manage your mental and emotional space, strategies for holding your focus, and staying the course over the long term.
Each lesson is delivered via email. Along with the text and video lessons are also suggested additional readings, resources, and downloadable files.
The lessons are designed to inspire and impart new ideas to all writers, from emerging to seasoned professional. Your mentor is on hand to provide further information and discuss concepts as they relate to your book.
• Daily Writing Schedule
Once you begin, you will receive a custom writing schedule that is set up for you to complete a book-length draft* in 4 months.
To achieve this draft length, you write 3-4 pages a day (a page is approx. 250-320 words) 5 days a week.
*240-320-pages
*Note: if you wish to begin the program at a different writing pace or change your pace at any point during the program, we are happy to adapt your writing schedule accordingly.
I have just completed the Write Your Memoir in 4 Months program, and I couldn't be more pleased. I now have a first draft of a book that is very dear to me. The structure of the program works, the weekly lessons are well crafted and provide support and a wealth of useful information and resources. The feedback and encouragement from my mentor were invaluable. I am excited to start the next phase of my project, in the company of my mentor and One Lit Place.
When you begin Week 2, you move into weekly lessons, your mentor meetings, accountability tracking, and writing schedule!
$236/month
$324/month
$136/month
Writing a memoir is a complex endeavor; not only must you write your true story and hazard your emotional interior to make meaning from your experiences, but the book needs to read like a novel with plot, character development, strong narrative voice, scenes, and engaging prose.
Add to that having to establish a writing routine and schedule, learn how to best craft your story, and be your own cheerleader to sustain your energy and enthusiasm over the length of the project … and that’s where many writers stop before they even get started.
Our clear framework alleviates you from having to worry about managing the process so you can focus on your work.
Your mentor helps you move forward one step at a time, normalizes the the ups and downs that come with writing a first draft, and supplies you with relevant additional strategies and insights pertinent to your writing style and process that you can implement right away.
That kind of personal attention from a skilled literary professional who comes to know you and your work is invaluable. You may have friends, family, or a generous writing group, but this kind of intimate support ensures you feel seen, identified, and validated in specific ways as a writer, and those feelings show up in your work.
As opposed to feeling overwhelmed and lost, our multi-sided support helps you feel clear, productive, and motivated. You see that not only can you tell your story, but that others will be moved by it and you can affect change with your words.
Many people want to write their memoir, but it’s largely those writers who get positive and compassionate support through the process and the unique personal focus of an invested partner who are the ones who successfully complete their books.
One Lit Place is an outstanding resource for writers. Not only are the teachings stellar, but having one of their writing mentors is invaluable. I would recommend this program to any writer who wants structure, accountability or simply increased productivity. They will not be disappointed.
Between the daily writing, engaging with the lessons, and meeting with your mentor, the recommended time commitment is 8-9 hours/ week to successfully complete your draft in 4 months.
It’s broken down like this:
In your first program email you’re given a questionnaire whose answers help us connect you with the most appropriate mentor from the team. Naturally if you have a request, we will do our best to honor it, or we seek to match you with someone who specializes in your topic or genre and who is available not only for the program but to continue to support you for the long term.
Right away, your program begins, and you will receive your first lesson by email. Subsequent lessons will arrive every second day during your first week until the second week when they move to a weekly format. We suggest you create a folder in your email program to save the lessons so you can review them any time you like. At quarterly intervals, you will also receive a link to view the previous month’s modules on a password-protected page of our site.
At the beginning of Week 2, you will meet your mentor in our editors’ platform in a secure private team, where your accountability sheet, custom writing calendar, and any files you share with your mentor are housed. You may wish to have your mentor meetings via Zoom or over the phone.
This program is designed to be relevant and inspiring to all levels of writer. If you’re new to the craft, you will gain access into the building blocks of a memoir and how to use them in the real-life context of your writing. The purpose of the program is to give you tools that will ultimately inform your book but as importantly, a framework that will usher you along through your first draft. The goal isn’t to have a publishable book by the end of the program but a foundation from which you can then adapt and refine with your mentor once it’s written. As Jodi Picoult says, “You can’t edit a blank page.” This program will give you all you need to begin your memoir’s journey!
Writing a memoir is an emotional, intellectual, and creative process. Not having to project manage the work is a relief and an alleviation for any writer and may free you up yet more to allow your unconscious thoughts to rise to the surface unchecked. As the purpose of the program is to barrel you through your first draft, and to enhance your overall awareness of creative nonfiction craft, you may find that combination greatly enhances your practice, refines your focus, and supports you as you develop your draft.
When you enroll in the program, you must provide your credit card information; however, your card is only charged after your free trial week, on the 8th day, for your first month’s payment. The subsequent 3 payments will be automatically charged to your card one month apart until all 4 payments have been made. If you find during the free trial week that the program isn’t for you, you can access your account and cancel the program on our website or reach out to us at contact@onelitplace.com prior to the end of business day EST on your 7th day, and we’ll cancel your program for you.
We treat your story, your personal details, and your writing with great care and respect. Under no circumstances will we share your materials with anyone outside of One Lit Place and only the director, your mentor(s), and you have access to any content you share as part of the working relationship. Please have a look at our Terms and Conditions where we speak to your confidentiality and the relationship you have with your mentor and with One Lit Place.
When you’ve got a workable draft, you’re ready to work one-on-one with a writing coach.
In this custom personal relationship, you can get to work on refining, shaping, and revising the work in whatever ways work best for you and your project.
This collaborative approach will ensure you feel strong and productive while seeing your manuscript take shape. Then, once it’s as far along as you can take it, your coach will dive into the editing and help you prepare the manuscript for publication.
Alternatively, if you have worked on the draft and feel you’re ready to get a sense of how it’s working, you may benefit from a manuscript evaluation, which is a comprehensive look at the work designed to help you see it through new eyes so you can make the necessary changes as you prepare the work for publication.
$246/month
$324/month
$136/month
The perfect solution for preparing for the program and getting acclimated to your material and how it works to be supported
When your draft is in place, we're here to help you with revision and editing as you prepare it for publication.
Getting close to publishing your memoir? We'll help you with your query or proposal or format the manuscript for self-publishing and more
4-month programs in novel and business books, our blogging course, and our self-guided online course to prepare you to write your memoir, Cultivating Creativity.
Our 4-month Mentored Book Programs, Online Courses, & Writing Coaching and Editing Hours. From November 21-27, 2023