What if you could revise your memoir draft with confidence and clarity?

Start your revisions with focus to save time and frustration.

Do you have a messy first draft? Maybe you have piles of literal or digital pages of scenes you've started but don't know what to do with them. Maybe you're a few chapters in and suddenly stalled.

You know your story needs focus, but you don’t know how to find it.

What if a few short questions could provide you with clarity and direction?

By spending just an hour or two to identify some key points about your story, you can clear the clutter.

You know something isn't quite right with your manuscript, but you can't pinpoint it.

Maybe you're getting conflicting feedback from a critique group. Or, maybe you've revised all or part of your manuscript so many times that you've lost sight of why you started writing in the first place. It's hard to know what steps to take next when you can’t see your story through the shambles.

Right now, you’re struggling with how to “fix” your messy first draft. You have a story to tell, but the process is overwhelming. Maybe you’ve been told—and already have tried—to set your draft aside to return to it with “fresh” eyes. But you still feel stuck. Or, maybe you have so many scenes that you think are important and should be included, but you’re not sure and don’t know how to figure that out.  

What if you could start decluttering your draft with less overwhelm and clear direction?

Who am I, and how can I help?

I’m a writer and a teacher at heart. I've been studying stories and literature for decades, first with a BA in English Literature and later with an MFA in Writing. I've completed editorial training through Author Accelerator, Liminal Pages, Editorial Arts, and Club Ed. Additionally, I am a certified fiction book coach through Author Accelerator's Book Coach Certification Program. 


For the past 20+ years, I've supported writers (including several published ones) at various stages in developing their creative and academic work. 


I’ve also been where you are! 


I've authored thirteen nonfiction books and have taught university writing courses for several years, both in the classroom and online. Even with that experience, for years, I struggled with writing my memoir. Once I got clarity and direction, I was able to write forward with focus. Had I known then what I know now, I could have saved myself years of frustration and time.


My goal is to use all I’ve learned to help save you unnecessary stress. I created this guide just for you so that the heart of your story—what you really want to say—becomes clearer.

Once you know what you’re writing toward, it will be easier to get there


...with less time staring at a screen or shuffling through scenes.

Here's How

Identifying your memoir’s main message can help you move forward with revisions with confidence and clarity, and I will teach you both how and why.

Specifically identifying a few key details about your story can help streamline your revision process, which can save you time and keep you motivated. 

Un-mess your Memoir will help you:

  1. Identify the overarching theme in your messy draft
  2. Identify the guiding question your memoir is trying to answer
  3. Use that information to identify and specifically state your memoir’s main message

This is for you if you are a memoir writer...

...With a complete manuscript who knows it needs revision but are unclear how or where to start.
...Who’s been working on revisions for a while, still feels stuck, and aren’t quite sure how to keep writing forward.
...Who’s received conflicting feedback and now just feels confused.
...Who’s been trying to make some decisions about their complete manuscript and has confused themselves.
...Who wants a quick, simple next step for revising. 

What Others are Saying

Before diving into Un-Mess Your Memoir, my memoir draft was, well, a mess! I knew I had too many scenes and needed structure. What I didn’t have was clarity. Which scenes should I keep? Toss? What order should I put them in? My revision was slow-slow going. Then I downloaded Un-Mess Your Memoir. This course is magic! It’s a crash course in clarity! Maurene’s step-by-step approach and specific exercises are helping me to see my memoir in a new light. Now I’m “decluttering” scenes with focus and clarity and a whole new level of confidence that makes me excited to show up for my revision! Thank you, Maurene!

~ Marilyn Bousquin

Writer and Book Coach

Writing Women's Lives

What's Included

  1. Recording overview of the process
  2. Fillable workbook of the steps of the process
  3. Audio only of recording
  4. PDF of recording slides
  5. Recording Transcript