Do Memoir Writing Prompts work? Are they useful to help you write your memoir?
Well… it depends. One can waste a whole ton of writing time using Memoir Writing Prompts.
Discover what to be aware of and how to use your writing time successfully.
What are Memoir Writing Prompts?
Basically, memoir writing prompts are questions that may help you remember personal life experiences. The trouble is, they don’t provide a direction or a destination for your story. And that is what writing memoir is really about.
Think of it logically. So you write a prompt, then what: what do you do with it? It’s just a part of your life – it’s not your ‘story’.
Therefore, I am not a big lover of memoir writing prompts. Yes, they help you put words on the page, and yes, perhaps, they help you sit down to write. But, memoir writing prompts will not bring you progressively along your memoir writing journey.
In fact, memoir writing prompts will keep you at the same place, just going around in circles as if on, what I call – the writing carousel. Memoir writing prompts won’t bring you forwards in your story. Memoir writing prompts won’t provide direction for your story.
Memoir writing prompts will keep you at the same place, just going around in circles – keeping you on the writing carousel.
Memoir writing prompts do not provide cohesive building blocks, so don’t expect to write your memoir solely by engaging in memoir prompts.
Are Memoir Writing Prompts the same as Memoir Writing Exercises?
Yes and no, is the answer. It depends on the exercise.
The big difference between using memoir writing prompts and a specific memoir writing exercise to help the development of your story, is that upon completion of the specific memoir writing exercise – you will have built another level or layer to your story.
Writing from a memoir prompt is a stand-alone piece of writing, and may have nothing to do with the memoir you really want to write.
Memoir Writing Prompts could possibly help you strengthen your writing voice, but again, one must understand what writing voice is, before you can gain the benefits from using memoir writing prompts to deepen your writing voice. For more information on Writing Voice visit my post on Memoir Writing.
And often, Memoir Writing Exercises are just Memoir Writing Prompts to help you engage in putting words on the page, and are not specific Memoir Writing Exercises that will help the development of your story.
Writing your memoir requires a focused approach – not random memoir writing prompts or exercises.
For instance, my book, The Memoir Writing Workbook, provides 36 multi-part specific exercises, to show the reader how to go deeper with their story, how to develop various aspects of the writing journey, and how to evoke memory and structure memoir.
And all of these integrated exercises are based on using right-brain/left-brain writing techniques. Writing in this way will bring you to where you want to be as a writer – don’t doubt it.
There is therefore a huge difference between the content of the exercises in The Memoir Writing Workbook and just a random selection of ‘memoir writing exercises’ to help you pick up the pen.
Memoir Writing TIP – Stop the writing carousel
Be mindful when you start a memoir writing exercise that the exercise and your writing will provide you with another piece of your memoir writing jigsaw, and does not keep you on the writing carousel.
When you engage with the right-brain / left-brain exercises in The Memoir Writing Workbook, you will instantly know the difference between specific memoir writing exercises and that of a random memoir writing exercise, or memoir writing prompt.
The Key to Developing Your Memoir
Writing life experiences as story is key to the development and completion of your memoir.
This is the writing journey you need to go on in a focused way in order to develop and write your memoir. This rule of thumb also applies to the writing of a short / mini memoir.
It’s by building your story, step-by-step, that will help you to include each element of memoir writing into your memoir, so you build it from the foundation up, just like any building project.
Want a helping hand and guide to put this into practise?
The Memoir Writing Workbook (240 pages) is based on right-brain/left-brain visual writing techniques. It has 36 multi-part focused exercises and 45 writing tips to help trigger memory and learn story creation. Each chapter with examples, show how to develop and write memoir, using the unique Memoir Map.
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