Memoirs are more popular than ever these days, and many new writers find themselves drawn to the idea of writing a memoir. As with any literary project, memoirs pose their own unique challenges for even the most accomplished authors. Here are some tried and true tips that can make the process easier to manage.
Writers must remember that there is a difference between memoirs and life stories. Autobiographies cover the entirety of a person's life, but memoirs are more limited in scope. As a result, it is important to select a specific event of interest and save other life events for later writings.
Memoirs are not something that can be completed in a day. However, no writer should allow himself to drag the process out over many years either. The best strategy is to set a goal of penning anywhere from a few hundred words to several thousand each and every day. This can help the project remain on track over time.
While chronology is important in some areas of life, it has little value in memoirs. Such a bland recount of an event does little to inspire readers. Instead, writers should be creative with their stories, since they have only a few pages to excite the reader enough that he actually continues beyond the first chapter.
Try to show the story rather than tell it. This is accomplished by actively using all five senses to tell the tale, rather than simply recounting one boring detail after another. This is the technique that all good writers use to draw their readers into the action and hold their attention.
Most important of all is that the writer be persistent. All too often, new books can be set aside by writers who find themselves overwhelmed by the simple act of living. When a book is written little by little each day, however, writers will find that writing a memoir is not as difficult as it might seem.
Writers must remember that there is a difference between memoirs and life stories. Autobiographies cover the entirety of a person's life, but memoirs are more limited in scope. As a result, it is important to select a specific event of interest and save other life events for later writings.
Memoirs are not something that can be completed in a day. However, no writer should allow himself to drag the process out over many years either. The best strategy is to set a goal of penning anywhere from a few hundred words to several thousand each and every day. This can help the project remain on track over time.
While chronology is important in some areas of life, it has little value in memoirs. Such a bland recount of an event does little to inspire readers. Instead, writers should be creative with their stories, since they have only a few pages to excite the reader enough that he actually continues beyond the first chapter.
Try to show the story rather than tell it. This is accomplished by actively using all five senses to tell the tale, rather than simply recounting one boring detail after another. This is the technique that all good writers use to draw their readers into the action and hold their attention.
Most important of all is that the writer be persistent. All too often, new books can be set aside by writers who find themselves overwhelmed by the simple act of living. When a book is written little by little each day, however, writers will find that writing a memoir is not as difficult as it might seem.
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