Improving Your Memoir Writing Skills
Polish Your Writing Abilities And Improve the Quality Of Your Work
Mar 30, 2009
So you want to write your memoir. You think you have a great story to tell and would like to share it with an audience. You might even aspire to getting your story published. While such aspirations might seem like hard to reach dreams, there is much that you can do to improve your chances of getting your story noticed. While having an interesting and compelling story is essential, equally important and essential to success is the quality of your writing skills. So what can you do to improve your writing skills, particularly when writing a memoir?
Read, Read, Read
Reading the work of other memoir writers will help you develop your own writing skills. You'll begin to tell the different between good quality writing and poor quality writing. You also recognise the different approaches that authors have taken when writing memoirs. It's not about copying the styles of other writers, it's about understanding the various approaches that can be used, and then deciding what works best for you.
Granta magazine is a useful source for creative non-fiction writing. This quarterly publication frequently contains short story memoirs, written by new writers. The standard of writing is of extremely high quality and is a great reference for any creative non-fiction writer. The Granta website also contains articles online.
The autobiographies and memoirs section of your local library or bookshop have a wide range of books available to also get you started.
Learn, Learn, Learn
There are a number of books available, dedicated to writing creative non-fiction, such as memoirs and autobiographies. One such book is The Art of Creative Non-Fiction, by Lee Gutkind. A book review is available on this publication.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Just like any talent or skill, writing improves the more that you do it. Whether you're building up muscles or improving your writing skills, you need to practice, and on a regular basis. Get into the habit of writing each day. Perhaps it's jotting down notes that will eventually go into your memoir. Keep a notepad or journal with you at all times so that when thoughts and ideas arise you can quickly take a note of them. It doesn't really matter what you're writing about, so long as you're getting into the habit of writing on a regular basis and improving your writing skills.
Edit, Edit, Edit
Don't be afraid to re-work what you've written. No author writes the perfect sentence or paragraph or chapter, the first time round. Great writing comes from much re-writing and improving. Don't be precious over what you've put down on paper (or down on screen). There is always room for improvement, and even just as an experiment, re-write what you've written; it just might be better.
Time, Time, Time
Sometimes we need to distance ourselves from our work. When you know something very well it's often difficult to recognise what isn't working or what could be improved. Once you've got to this stage put your work away in a draw and come back to it some time later. You might find that by looking at it with fresh eyes you'll see your work from a completely different perspective.
Great writing is an art, and the great writer is someone who takes the time to practice their skills and always looks for ways to improve their abilities. Having a great story is a wonderful place to start, but ultimately you need to be able to capture the essence of your story so that you can share it with your reader. And this is where your success will ulitmately depend on your writing skills.
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