Dear Geist,

I recently started writing my first book, a memoir, but I am unsure how to write something so long. I have a good idea of what I want to include and focus on, but when I think about how to sustain a story over the course of two hundred pages or so, I become intimidated and confused. Do you have any advice on how to make writing a long project more manageable?

Dear Rebecca,

At the heart of all the inspiring writing we’ve seen on how to write a memoir is this: start small, and do not plan. Write short scenes and anecdotes — little stories, in other words — not in chronological order but as they come to you, and make notes of other things that come to mind in the process. Try to write a bit every day, at about the same time. When you have a good stack, lay them out and observe any themes, patterns, surprises, etc., and work from there. Let the material tell you what you’re writing and what matters, rather than trying to force your actual writings into the structure you had in mind before you began.

And now, three very useful books on the subject:

(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001)

(Anchor, 1995)

(Da Capo Press, 2005)