Every person is the protagonist in their own story. Since the invention of writing, people have felt the need to share their personal experiences. These first-person accounts are now called “memoirs” in modern times.
What is a Memoir?
Memoirs are a first, non-fictional account of the author’s personal life. Memoirs can be translated to French as “memory” (or “reminisce”) and are focused on intimate experiences, personal truths, and emotional truths. Memoirists often combine their memories with real life to create compelling stories. Memoirs don’t have to adhere to strict timelines or facts.
6 Tips to Write a Memoir
These writing tips will help you get started on your memoir.
1. Avoid writing your entire autobiography. Writing a memoir is not easy. It’s difficult to recount your entire life story within a single sitting. It’s difficult to include a million of your most memorable moments in one book. Writing memoirs should be about specific moments in your own life.
2. Your sensory experience should be unique. It is not easy to make your memoirs relatable and accessible. It is important to make your first draft vivid and engaging.
3. Do not start from the beginning. When you first start writing a memoir, it is tempting to go back to the beginning and work your way up. But the best memoirs are not chronological. Memoirists are known to start with a single compelling moment or story from their life. They’ll go backwards, filling in the gaps. This will grab the attention of the reader from the beginning.
4. Fiction-writing techniques are a good option. A memoir that is well-written and compelling should be as captivating as a bestseller in fiction. Although you are drawing on your personal experiences, it is important to encourage you to use techniques from novels and short stories. To build suspense, re-create scenes using dialogue. It’s better to show than tell. Instead of over-explaining, describe the action. These techniques will bring life and color to your writing.
5. It is a good idea to collapse your characters. Writing your personal memoirs can be tempting. You should focus on only the events and people that are most important to your story’s themes. Your mentor in high school English or your boss at work is not enough to help you write the memoir.
6. Every day, write. Although it may seem obvious, writing every day is the best way to begin your memoir. You should establish a routine. Find a place or time that you can write every day. You should set a daily goal of at least 1,000 words. Set a minimum daily word count goal. Writing daily creative writing exercises or daily freewriting exercises can be helpful if you are struggling with writer’s block.
Author
