How to Write Memoirs Without Waffling
Writing Autobiographies That Keep Readers Interested All the Way
Oct 21, 2009
Presumably, anyone who starts writing a memoir begins by having a picture of the reader in mind. Sometimes that reader is just one other family member. Sometimes it's the extended family. And sometimes, "the reader" is a wide, undefined readership – that crowd of people out there haunting bookstores, looking for an interesting memoir to while away a few hours.
Many, many people would rather read non-fiction than fiction; they like to read about real people with real dilemmas. However, they don't want to read about every single incident in the author's life: just the highlights! A few weeks spent planning a memoir will not only make it a more enjoyable read, but much easier to write.
Start Planning a Memoir by Writing a Master List
The first step in writing a memoir is to decide what to include and what to leave out. The writer should ask questions like these:
- What is the main purpose I have in writing this memoir?
- What were the turning points in my life?
- Was there any one incident that altered the course of my life?
- What made me decide to follow the path in life that I chose?
- Who was a significant person in my childhood?
- Who was a significant person in my early adult years?
- Did I experience conflict between work and family life?
- What sacrifices did I have to make?
- What was the happiest moment in my life?
- What was the bleakest moment in my life?
- Is there a major lesson that I have learned in life?
Decide on the Main Sections for the Memoir
Once the writer has a master list of what should be included in the memoir, it's time to start organizing the material into a logical flow. The most important thing to remember is that I life does not have to be divided into neat little parcels. Some people might prefer to skip over the early years, and start with the day they started their first job. For others, the turning point might be when they moved to a different town or a different country. This could be a good place to start, with brief flashbacks to earlier days.
Sometimes it's useful to outline a book using a mind map – squares or circles joined with lines and arrows. This can easily be turned into a more formal outline later.
Include Interesting Anecdotes
People love to listen to stories. A memoir will be much more interesting if, rather than saying "I did this", and "I did that", the writer helps the reader to picture the scene by telling the story like a scene from a novel. Family members often have fascinating stories to contribute.
There's plenty of information on the Internet about how to write a good anecdote. Existing memoirs and autobiographies on the shelves in the library should also contain good examples of anecdotes. Use fiction writing techniques to make these anecdotes come to life.
Fill the Memoir With Interesting Characters
Not only do people love to listen to stories, they love to read about people. Most people's lives are filled with encounters with interesting characters. The dilemma is how to bring these people to life on the page. It helps to create a chart for each person who is going to appear in the memoir. Use the following headings to help flesh out the people who will make an appearance:
- Appearance (face, hair, clothing, habitual expression).
- Favourite saying or common expressions (Does this person often repeat a certain phrase or word? By adding these to remembered conversations, the writer can create a vivid snapshot of what that person was like)
- Typical mannerisms, body language, and way of walking.
If the writer can clearly picture the people being written about, it will be easier to write about them.
Edit Along the Way, and Edit Again at the End
One of the hardest things for memoir writers to get used to is cutting words; it all seems necessary for the development of the story. Take heart from the fact that even full-time writers often hate to cut words from the stories.
It's much easier to work on cutting the number of words in one chapter than in a whole book. Start by setting a goal to cut down the words by twenty per cent, and then another twenty per cent. Most writers find that after a while, they're actually writing tighter prose in the first draft of the chapter, which cuts down the editing. When the memoir is finished, it's time to go through and tighten it up some more – hard work, but worth it.
The strategies outlined here will help to ensure that the memoir is well-paced and well-written. While the author might be reluctant to eliminate certain stories, the reality is that there's just not room for everything. Good planning and good editing will result in a much more appealing memoir.
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