Selling Books

Your Guide to Writing, Publishing and Marketing Books and Ebooks

  • Blog
  • Free Newsletter
You are here: Home / Memoir Writing / Your Life is a Story. Tell it in a Memoir

Your Life is a Story. Tell it in a Memoir

July 12, 2011 by Bobbi Linkemer

Whether you realize it or not, your life is a story, and it’s a story you should share, at least with those closest to you. If you decide to write a memoir, chances are it won’t be a best seller. You may or may not even choose to publish it. But I urge you to write it.

If you’ve never written before, you will be amazed at what an almost mystical experience it can be for you. If you have dabbled in writing but kept your precious thoughts and words buried in a drawer or hidden on your hard drive, this is the best way I know to write, first, for yourself and, second, for your most appreciate your audience, your family.

Ten ways to structure a memoir

1. A theme or a thread
2. Chronological
3. Flashbacks
4. Function: how things work
5. Journey: circular changes, from beginning to end
6. Mosaic: pieces of a puzzle or little vignettes
7. Organic: from physical qualities or layout
8. Origins: how things came to be or are made
9. People or characters
10. The seasons

Ten ways to begin

You do not necessarily have to start at the beginning. Consider starting with:

1. an important moment that reveals character—yours or someone else’s
2. a memory or flashback
3. a photograph or memento
4. beginnings, endings, first times, last times
5. a significant event—illness, birth, death, funeral, wedding, divorce
6. sensory memories—sights, sounds, smells
7. secrets, epiphanies, encounters, accusations
8. successes or failures
9. worst and best moments
10. mentors, heroes, villains

What to do

Use impressionistic description through metaphorical language: metaphor—direct comparison; simile—metaphor, using like or as or as though. Paint a picture with details, active, descriptive verbs. Orient yourself with the landscape. The external landscape reflects the inner landscape of your life (turbulent, stormy).

Personalize your writing, using “I” words and a subjective approach to subject matter. Use present tense; it gives energy to the writing. Use dialogue; direct conversation is powerful.

Break your memoir into moments or scenes; include conversation. Capture interesting conversation that reveals something about the character; leave out what’s not important. Boil events down to the basics. What is important to convey? What about you is different because of this incident or time in your life?

Make your story complex, unpredictable, powerful. Loop together a series of scenes like moments of conflict; conflict makes writing interesting. Do your best to tell the truth, as you know it; but even when you’re writing about the truth, it’s OK to combine several people into a composite character.

What not to do

Don’t just write down facts; create images for the reader. Don’t tell; show. Show with visual description, metaphoric language, dialogue (either conversation you remember verbatim or close to what could have been said based on the situation). Don’t use clichés and expected language; use powerful verbs. Don’t weaken your writing with adverbs; get rid of all “ly” words. Don’t ramble; compress language.
Why it’s personal

A memoir is about you. It is creative nonfiction. The greatest strength about creative nonfiction is that you stick to the essence of the truth, but you can exercise some creative license by including factual information and physical details to make a scene come to life. Creative nonfiction teaches something, even if the lesson is subtle.

A memoir challenges you to do more than recall and record facts about you life. It asks you to engage in courageous writing—to reveal yourself, your humanity, and the range of human experience, both joy and pain.

There is something in your story that every reader can relate to even if you don’t know what that will be. So, even though it is your story, as you write it, seek universal themes so that it relates not just to you but also to humanity in general. Above all, remember that your life is a story. Write it!

Bobbi Linkemer is a book coach, ghostwriter, editor, and the author of 16 books under her own name. She has been a professional writer for more than 40 years, a magazine editor, and a book-writing teacher. Her clients include Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals who want to write books in order to enhance their credibility or build their businesses. Visit her Website at: www.WriteANonfictionBook.com.

Related Posts :

Dorcey Alan Wingo - The Rise and Fall of Capt...
Will You Write My Life Story?
Robert W. McKnight - Author Interview
Marta Hiatt - Author Interview

Filed Under: Memoir Writing Tagged With: autobiography, life story, memoirs

Sell More Books!

FREE! Sign up Cathy Stucker's Selling Books newsletter. You will get useful tips and techniques for writing, publishing and selling books, plus member-only exclusives such as free webinars.

BONUS! Get instant access to Cathy's audio program on how to Build an Effective Author Platform!

I respect your privacy & will NEVER sell, rent or share your email address. More than a policy, it's my Privacy Pledge.

Recent Articles

  • FAQs About Children’s Book Illustrations
  • 5 Posts Every Author Should Write on their Website
  • Reducing Everyday Distractions So You Can Get More Writing Done
  • E.S.Danon – Moon in Bastet
  • Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue – Complicated Heart
  • OLUWAmuyiwa Omole – Re.Think CULTURE
  • Dale S. Rogers – Lighthouse on Tortola
  • What’s in a Name?
  • Sebastian Schug – A Guide to Exploring Abandoned Churches
  • Camille Cabrera – Catalina’s Tide

Pages

Contact
Contribute Articles
Contributing Authors
Free Newsletter to Help You Sell More Books
Get Interviewed
Publishing Resources
Subscribe/RSS
Privacy/Disclosure Policies

Categories

Agents Amazon.com Article Marketing Author Interviews Author Platform Blogging Book Business Book Design Book Marketing Book Proposals Book Publicity Book Publishing Book Reviews Book Signings Bookstore Book Titles Book Tours Cathy's Blog Children's Books Content Marketing Copyright Copy Writing Ebooks Editing Fiction Writing Freelance Writing Get Published Ghostwriters Internet Marketing Marketing Fiction Motivation Networking Non-Fiction Writing Oprah Winfrey POD Publishing Public Speaking Research Resources for Writers Running Your Publishing Company Self Publishing Social Media Special Sales Video Marketing Writers Block Writing

Return to top of page

Copyright © 2006 - 2021 Cathy Stucker · All Rights Reserved

Log in to your account