Map Your Memoir:

A guided course to help stuck memoir writers finally move forward—with confidence, clarity, and a plan.

You’re writing a memoir, but…

  • Sometimes, while writing, you stop and think, What the heck am I even writing? What am I trying to say?

  • You’re struggling to identify how exactly your personal experience will relate to others.

  • You've read books like Save the Cat and then reworked your entire storyline trying to fit all of the true events into fictional checkboxes and now you feel even more confused.

  • You’re a great writer; you love stringing words and sentences together and studying your craft, but you don’t know how to turn it into a cohesive narrative that flows.

  • You’re writing toward infinity. You don’t know where your story ends because life keeps going on.

  • You’ve heard your story needs things like an arc, conflict, desire and stakes, but you' aren’t sure how to apply them to your unique experience(s).

  • You’ve completed a messy first draft, but something about it just isn’t working.

  • You’ve completed your manuscript and tried to pitch literary agents but aren’t having any luck.

This course is for you.

“The Memoir Map was exactly what I needed to make fast progress on my manuscript. My confidence and pride - in my query letter, synopsis, and overall arc and themes of my memoir - feel astronomically different. It feels like many years of work condensed into a short few months.”

~NATASHA BUFFO

The Exact System I Use with 1:1 Clients

You don’t need another craft book.

You need clarity, structure, and momentum.

Map Your Memoir gives you that and more.

When I begin working with a new book coaching client, I start with The Memoir Map — a process that builds off the Author Accelerator Blueprint developed by Jennie Nash that hundreds of writers have used to shape their stories.

Whether clients come to me with just an idea or a first draft, this process helps them align the story they want to tell with the story they need to tell, and gives them clarity on exactly how to tell it.

This process does NOT ask you to create a detailed outline of all your plot points or to spend hours writing and rearranging sticky notes on a whiteboard. It won’t ask you to fit your lived experience into a specific formula.

Instead, it WILL help you understand the very core of what makes your story unique and how best to connect it to readers.

 

“The Map Your Memoir process really helped me to dig deep into the heart of my story, uncover my motivation for writing it, and reveal the gaps in my narrative, including ideas for best opening and closing scenes.”

~WILEY WEI-CHIUN HO

Before the course, you might feel:

  • Unsure where your story starts or ends

  • Buried in memories with no idea how to shape them

  • Confused about what your book is really about

After the course, you’ll walk away with:

  • A clear, working map of your memoir’s arc

  • A deeper understanding of your central story question

  • A plan to move forward—without writing in circles

How it Works

In a combination of video and text lessons, you’ll learn the key elements your story needs to appeal to readers, and how to connect them all together to write a narrative that flows.

As you work through each lesson, you’ll be asked to apply it to your own memoir idea using the accompanying workbook.

In the end, you’ll analyze your answers to see where there are holes or inconsistencies in your narrative so you can revise until everything aligns.

Meet Your Instructor

Hi, I’m Jessica! I’m a writer, certified book coach and developmental editor with a master’s degree in creative nonfiction and experience in the publishing industry.

I’ve used this memoir mapping process with dozens of authors, and I’ve used it for my own book. I know it works. I also know not everyone has the time, funds, or desire to work with a book coach, and I want to help as many writers as I can. That’s why I turned my process into a new, self-paced course for those who want a DIY approach.

Learn more about me

Don’t take my word for it; Take theirs…

  • "I have clarity on how to move forward with my manuscript."

    ~KATHRYN VIGNESS

  • "I now have a clearer idea of what the purpose of my memoir is."

    ~BRITTANY JAMES

  • "Jessica is a master at this process."

    ~LESLIE B. SCOTT

Ready to turn your memories into a manuscript?

Frequently Asked Questions

  • This is a self-paced course so you can work through the lessons at your own speed. Some writers breeze through it in a few days, others work slowly over several weeks.

  • Yes! If you have questions, just email Jessica inside the course platform and she will help out.

    If you’d like personalized feedback on your Memoir Map and a 1:1 coaching session with Jessica, there’s an opportunity to add that inside the course.

  • This standard offer gives you 60 days of course access.

  • No. There are no refunds.