Yes, I have written my memoir and interestingly enough, it appears as if I have captured what you recommended in your article. Confirms I am on target. You can find a short recap of my book on BooksDaily. Thank you! Fantastic article! I just finished a business book, my first, 20 years in the making.
As I read I imagined myself writing a memoir about the journey. So glad you you found my site and will be over there quite a bit. That makes my heart sing! I have been meaning to write my memoir for several years now in hopes to find some healing in the loss of my 19 year old daughter while she was in the Air Force.
It has been to scary because of the pain whenever I think about it. Your ideas are well stated and clearly stated and give me some direction where I think it is now time to sit down and write this. Hey Michelle. So sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter. Writing memoir can be painful, but the end result is that it will impact so me—it will be powerful! I am happy you found some clarity and inspiration. Thank you ever so much Shannon, this is a brilliant and very helpful post, I am just an aspiring writer I am no where near writing a memoir yet but I decided to blog.
I have two blogs one where I share my daily life experiences and encounters whose address I have put above. The other is about the breakdown of my marriage whose address is december18blog. I am certainly going to take your advice and make my blogs authentic and help my viewers to get to know me and my life story. Thank you once again. Mabel, blogging is a super way to start a book. The more REAL you can be, the more people will engage with you and trust you. Hi Shanon, Thank you for giving the link to your talk on you tube which makes very interesting listening.
I have considered all you have said about writing a memoir and am currently deciding what my focus is going to be. Hi Mabel, was reading your blog at work. I was about to ask you this question: Did your Ex tried to apologize for his behavior or he just left you in this situation? Apart from cheating you, what else was the major cause of your divorce?
Shannon — super great post, thanks! Insightful and actionable. Where it all started.. Hi Nicki! Such a very important topic indeed. Be sure you have a content strategy to get the word out. I have seen my book and podcast explode the past two months because I followed a content strategy one I developed and have stuck to it.
Authors are brands too! Hi shannon , I m kalyani , wanting to write a book for past 30 yrs and never gettinb down to it thinking who will want to read a story of my life , a memoir so to speak. But after reading a few of them above , with ur encouragement , I m beginning to get an idea i think lol. Thank u. Thank you, Shannon, for this insightful advice. This is working for me. What a smart friend you have! Good luck! Your article has certainly ignited some ideas in my mind….
Hey Wendy, I hear ya. But to get all that off my chest and into something I am now proud of is key! When I work with my memoir writers, we talk about the emotions, and ways of handling them and dealing with them as we write. I can relate so much wendy. On my good days I dont want to go down into the depths of pain! But on the other hand I know I am compelled to write this story. Thank you Shannon for the great article! Most of my recent exploration into writing has been in blog format, specifically regarding grief and loss, and I would really like to begin writing about the happier times, and I believe a memoir is the way to begin.
Mike—what a great idea for a memoir. I think that if you think about the theme of the book, and then relate the stories to that theme, you will be just fine. As yourself, what do I want my readers to walk away knowing when they close the book? That is the theme, and then pick the bits and pieces that fit to that theme.
Sound good? Thanks for the helpful article. I have been hired to write the story of a 95 year-old woman. Her children approached me to do this, but she is excited about it and looking forward to seeing the book.
I guess it will be more of a biography than a memoir, but I want to include stories written as scenes, with details to keep it interesting. Hi Carolyn! Have you read this book? You might want to snag a copy and study the organization! Thank you Shannon for your sage advice. I appreciate what you say about creating a story with arc and viewing the people in the memoir as characters.
Now I realize that I have 3 distinct events that happened in my life to shape me and I look forward to gearing my memoirs towards that goal. Your advice opened my eyes to the possibilities…. Hey Faith. Yes, go for the sliver method. I started working with a memoir writer today and once we narrowed the focus to overarching theme, it was much easier to find the slivers that fit that theme. This is such a great article and with tons of nuggets.
Loved it and learned a thing or two as well. Shannon thank you for this brilliant post and extremely excellent timing! Ohhh Gail! Well done. So happy you found the inspiration to finish up. Thanks, Shannon, for these helpful tips.
Yay Neil! Good luck—and keep me posted! This story happened when I was in college and met the girl who became my wife. The time was filled with heavy emotion because I also stood at a crossroads. And so did she. Thank you. Hi there! Would love to hear more about your memoir—do you have a theme yet?
How exciting for you! Just finished research for my memoir and I also have all the documents that I need as evidence of truth. Hey April. If you reach out to me via email msh [at] thewritingwhisperer [dot] com we can talk about options. Keep writing! Great advice! As the author of two memoirs, these suggestions are spot on. Sometimes better told from the middle. Hi David. Yes, that is a great tip as well.
Thanks for the suggestion! It seems to work better, as it looked a little bit like a patchwork and would have readers scrambling and back-peddling to check on a date etc. Hi Carla, I work for a personal memoir company who help people record their stories which are then printed into beautiful hardbound books. We also assist with getting a digital version of your book on amazon. Please do get in touch, we would love to help you finalize it! I thank you for your help and look forward to writing my memoirs — to my first and only autobiography.
After reading the six points, I was inspired by the idea of having a memoir, something I was trying to avoid. I do have a finished manuscript which I had written in third person. The editor I sent it to gave me very candid and painful feedback.
We provide editing, design, publishing, and marketing of fiction and non-fiction. We specialize in sophisticated, unique illustrated book design. Writing a memoir that connects with an audience is not about telling your story. Great memoir relies on the tools of the story teller and is reflective rather than reportorial. The author looks at who she was and who she has become. A memoir is a slice of life. You can document anything, including the death of a loved one, the birth or adoption of a child, summer camp, a religious awakening, becoming an adult, journeying to a different country, or adjusting to the new home, just to name a few ideas.
Not sure how to whittle down your epic life into a measly memoir? Over the course of your life, you can write several memoirs about the different events that shaped who you are.
What event would take up at least one chapter of your autobiography? Take that chapter and expand it into an entire book.
A memoir gives you the opportunity to dig deep into a pivotal event or explore how you felt, why you felt it, and the lessons you learned. Figure out what lessons you learned from going through the event that is documented in your memoir. Mine for nuggets of truth. Many people use memoirs as a time of self-reflection and even therapy.
This is the theme of your story. Do one of those topics and associated themes apply to your memoir? What statement does your memoir make about this topic? For example, I wrote a memoir about losing my mother to cancer. I was 13 at the time, so it was a combination of dealing with loss and coming of age. The answer would be the big idea of my story.
They should be able to come away with a satisfying truth about life-- especially when reading a memoir. Always keep the big idea in mind. Sometimes, the theme becomes obvious after the first draft is on paper. And besides, starting at birth is a slow way to go. Most readers want to dive into the action, not wait for you to hit the major life event somewhere around page You can jump around and insert flashbacks and backstory.
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