On several occasions over the last 20 years, I’ve started writing my memoir. Each time, after writing three or four paragraphs, I’ve stopped. “Nobody would want to read this,” I’ve told myself, and that was it. Participating in the Memoir Medley project changed everything for me. Rather than trying to tell my life story in a chronological fashion, I’ve focused on responding to a single prompt each week. Each piece has been something I’ve enjoyed writing, something I’ve been proud to share with others. Now, after almost a year of weekly writing, I have a manuscript about my life, a compelling story that is bound together with multiple themes. I have a memoir.

Participating in a Medley Memoir is a great way to develop discipline in your writing. The weekly prompts give focus, and the commitment to the nine-month project adds a kind of accountability that many writers find missing in their writing lives.

~Harriett, Chambersburg, PA

From the time I starting keeping my first adolescent journal until last fall, I always wanted to be a writer.  I have co-authored a book.  I have been published in a few trade magazines. I have taken writing courses.  But until I became part of the Memoir Medley Project in October, 2009, I did not think of myself as a writer.  Being part of this project has given me the structure to develop my writing, the encouragement to pursue my skills, and the experience of being valued as a writer by my peers.  I feel as if my writing world has been blown wide open.  This year has been a wonderful gift.

~Ann, Baltimore, MD

I was privileged to be part of the Memoir Medley project in 2009/10 – every week was a new adventure, shared by fellow writers that I had never met in person.  Our stories unfolded over the weeks, but nothing was ever predictable.  The prompts brought out a prism of perspectives – every Monday we each went eagerly to the blog to read what our friends had shared.  We made connections that had nothing to do with Facebook – no pictures, just words, poems, lyrical prose.  We became addicted to the rhythm, and the commitment was never a burden, only an inspiration.  Sindee guided us gently, leaving us space to interpret the prompts in myriad ways.  Any writer would be lucky to be part of this unusual circle.

~Hana, Vienna, VA

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