What Two Girls Selling Beads Taught Me About Writing a Memoir

What does returning to an unfinished manuscript have in common with two young girls selling handmade bead animals from a tiny table on the side of the road?

More than you might think.

In this episode, I share a quiet moment from Fourth of July weekend that became an unexpected lesson about courage, creativity, and why memoir writers often overlook the stories already waiting for them.

We'll explore:

• Why writing your second book can feel very different from writing your first.
• The surprising connection between entrepreneurship and memoir.
• How ordinary moments become meaningful stories.
• Why curiosity is one of a memoir writer's greatest tools.
• A simple writing exercise to help you discover stories hidden in everyday life.

If you've ever wondered whether your life is "interesting enough" to write about—or you've struggled to return to a manuscript after time away—this episode is for you.

Writing Invitation

Make a list of ten ordinary moments you've noticed recently.

Choose one that continues to linger in your mind.

Write about it for fifteen minutes, then ask yourself:

Why did this moment stay with me?

You might discover that your next chapter has been quietly waiting for you all along.

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 Chrysler, 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. Welcome back to the Making Memoir Magic Podcast, and thank you for spending some of your day or evening with me. I'm Carrie Kreisman. I'm the author of the memoir Accidental First Lady, and I'm also a memoir coach and storytelling champion. I believe that our stories have value and that if we want to tell them, that we absolutely should. And this week on the podcast, I want to tell you about two little girls that I met. They weren't authors, they weren't speakers, they weren't even entrepreneurs in the traditional sense. They were simply sitting beneath a small umbrella on the corner out in front of their house with a folding table full of handmade bead creations. And they reminded me why so many memoir writers struggle to share their stories. Now, before we go on, I do want to tell you that I always stop when I see kids selling something. I want to support them. I give them credit, you know, internally for just getting outside, being outside, doing something creative, getting off their screens, um, although there is a time and a place for everything. So I'm not here to bash that habit by any means. But when I see kids doing that, it just makes me happy. So I always want to support them. Um, whether it's lemonade or they're selling art or like these little girls, um, these bead creations where you you've probably seen the kits in Michaels, you you buy them or any craft store, and um, they make little animals or hearts, or in this case it was an American flag because it was Fourth of July weekend. So um, anyway, that is what they were selling, and they gave me all their prices, and basically I wanted to um spend the you know most I could in a way. So I told them, what can you give me for five dollars? Um, because there was a two for five, I think, deal. And um, they I let them pick out their favorite ones to give me, and then I gave them each a tip. So it was just it made my day, and it it made me so happy, and um I loved seeing other people come up to them as I was there. I was in my car because I was headed home from the grocery store. But anyway, uh you can tell how much it made me happy because I'm still talking about it. But here's where we're going with this. All right, you're here to listen about memoir and writing, and there is a purpose for this story, and I'm going to get to it. So a few days earlier, I had returned to my manuscript for book two. I'm writing my second book. It's not yet titled, but it is a memoir, and I'm writing it with my husband. And now, many of you who've been listening for a while or who know me or know anything about me or who have read my book know that he was in politics for 22 years. And the book is not about that, okay? But before he even got into politics, we were married for, you know, um quite some time. I'm trying to think. It's shh seven years. We were married for, no, no, no, yeah, seven years. We'd been married. So we before he even got into politics. So before he was a politician, before we were a political couple, we were an inner faith couple, and we still are. So we're writing about our experience um of marriage of two faiths, his Jewish, mind Catholic decisions we made, how we raised our children, uh, you know, all the things from our individual perspectives. So that's a sneak peek into my um second book that I'm writing with him. But I had recently returned to that manuscript after a few weeks away. Um, and now if you've ever stepped away from a writing project, you know how intimidating or even awkward it can feel to open the document again. It's kind of like part guilt, part what am I gonna find? Where did I leave off? How am I gonna get started? Um, just because I teach this stuff does not mean that I am by any means an expert. I can teach it, I can guide writers, and I do, and it makes me so happy to do that. But I'm also a writer as well, and an author, and hopefully author of book number two. And I'm walking this road right alongside all the others who are out there writing their books. But you don't return awkwardly or you know, timidly to a book or a project or work in progress because you have forgotten how to write. That awkwardness is created because you have forgotten how to enter the world, okay? And my experience writing book one was different. I had less expendable time in a way. I was not as much in charge of my own time as I am now. And I'd started that book in 2018, so it's been a while. But oddly enough, feeling that pressure, so to speak, or or scarcity of time made the writing easier because there was an urgency. I wrote whenever I could find 30 minutes or so, maybe an hour. And now in this job of coaching aspiring authors, teaching memoir online and in the college and university system, I spend almost every day writing in some form or fashion. And, you know, because that writing belongs to my business, it's kind of hard to make it a priority for my own personal goals. So, you know, I spend a lot of my time writing podcast scripts. I'm roofing a little bit here, and we're having a conversation, even if you can't see me. Maybe you're watching the YouTube video or watching me on Substack. But I plan this, I write a lot of it. I I think it through about what I'm going to talk about. I write blog posts, I write emails, I write newsletters, I, you know, write new course lessons, new workshop um slides and ideas and things like that. I write social media, I write all day long. Okay, but none of those are my current work in progress. All right. And that shift has taught me something important. It says that to me that writing for your business and writing from your soul are two different creative muscles. They both deserve attention, but neither one can replace the other. So back to the girls and their art, which I am going to send to one of our youngest little family members, and I think she's going to really enjoy it. So it's going to be gifted to someone else, and hopefully that will inspire her to create. But I pulled over to see what those girls were up to because I admired their courage. I knew they were selling something. But think about it, these girls made something with their own hands. They sat outside in the July heat and they waited for strangers to decide whether what they made had value. Does that sound familiar to you at all? Because that's what writers do. We create something deeply personal and then we send it into the world. We s uh, you know, and on top of that, not only are writing, we send a query letter. Maybe we post something on Substack, maybe we have a newsletter that we send, uh, or we are writing a memoir, even just a chapter or recording a podcast episode like this. I am putting this into the world for all of you to like it, turn it off, love it, share it, whatever. So, but when you're young like that or first starting out, that courage is not easy to come by. So, you know, every time you do something that like that, and in this case, because this is a podcast about memoir, you are taking something from your life, your lived experience, your vulnerability, your emotions, your mistakes, your your contradictions, your fears, all of this, and taking it and sharing it with the world and saying, here's something I made. Okay. And every writer who does this wonders, will anyone stop? Like I stopped for those little girls. Will anyone stop and want to read what I wrote? Do they want to know what I have to say? Do they want to know my point of view? So I say yes to that. Not everyone will, but your readers will find you. Okay. I truly, truly believe that. But here's the encouraging part. Okay. Those girls weren't worried about selling out. They were simply excited that someone stopped to see what they were doing and and that they could talk about it and share part of their world with someone else. And I think writers can learn from that. Okay. We often measure our success, especially if you've published already, um, but or thinking. Even if you're thinking about it, you might be projecting, but we measure it by book sales, followers, subscribers, or reviews. Children measure success differently. Like someone noticed, someone smiled, someone believed their creation had value. And that's enough to keep creating. So that brings me to something that I tell my memoir students often. Stories don't arrive wearing name tags. There's not this big announcement saying, look at me, this is who I am. All right. But they they mostly often begin with tiny moments in your life that linger longer than expected. Like a smell, a recipe, a neighborhood walk, a conversation, or two girls sitting by the side of the road. Okay, look what they sparked with me. They have no idea, but they are the subject of my podcast this week. They're the subject of a Substack essay. They are even a subject of some teaching that I share with paid subscribers who are um subscribe to my Substack, Substack content for um people who want to learn how to write memoirs. So if you're interested in that, you can check that out. But my point in all of that is that they have no idea the impact that they made on me. So the memoir writer's job is not to chase dramatic stories, it's to become curious about the ordinary ones. So when something stays with you, don't dismiss it. Ask, why this? Why now? What does this moment reveal about me? Those questions transform memory into memoir. So I have an invitation for you this week. It's a memoir writing invitation. If you're up for it and you want to challenge yourself, I invite you to make a list of 10 ordinary moments from the past month. Don't judge them, don't organize them, just list them. Then circle the one that still carries emotional weight. Spend 15 minutes only writing that scene. Okay. Don't worry about where it belongs, may not even be in your book or your work in progress. Just do the activity and don't worry about whether it becomes a chapter, even. Okay. Just stay curious. All right. That's a different kind of writing muscle for you to exercise. So you may discover in doing this practice, you might find the story that you've been looking for that's been sitting beside you all along, waiting for you to stop and notice it. So that's all I have for this week. I thank you for listening, and until next time, keep noticing, keep remembering, and keep making memoir magic. 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 carryCreisman.com, on Instagram at carry. You'll get more tips and inspiration on your memoir journey. 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.