Irene Graham, creator of The Memoir Writing Workshop, discusses memoir writing.

Memoir writing, a hybrid of autobiographical writing and personal essay, is now an established genre of writing.

Everyone has a story to tell. Memoir writing can be approached from a number of perspectives depending on what the writer wants to achieve. It is therefore important to understand what is motivating you to write before embarking upon this worthwhile and rewarding form of writing.

Memoir can be written for the following reasons:

• for family and friends
• for publication
• as a therapeutic process
• to evoke life experiences for use in fiction

Choosing which category is appropriate for you and the story you want to tell helps determine writing development.

Getting Started
Biographical, autobiographical and memoir writing differ from one another and demand qualities that the prospective writer should become familiar with before embarking on their writing journey.

Biographical writing is writing the life story of another person. Memoirists can confuse writing the life story of their mother or father with biographical writing.

Autobiographical writing is generally written in chronological order. It is based on life experiences from birth to a given point in time that includes perhaps hundreds of characters, places and events from the writer’s entire life.

Memoir writing can be but is not usually written in chronological order. Memoir draws upon a particular subject matter, an incident, specific period or event from the writer’s life and focuses on the impact and challenges it subsequently had on their life. Memoir may also be about the life story of the memoirist’s mother, father, friend or relative, but from their perspective. If a sibling told the story of their parents, it would be from the sibling’s perspective and therefore would be a totally different story.

Therefore, because autobiographical writing encompasses an entire life and memoir forms part of a life story, an individual generally has one autobiography but many memoirs.

An example of published memoirs highlighted by subject matter includes:

• Burmese Lessons by Karen Connelly – a story of life and love in war torn Burma in the mid 90’s
• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion – the death of her husband and her daughter’s illness
• Marley & Me by John Grogan – family life and how their dog made a difference
• Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt – childhood memories of life in Ireland before emigrating to the USA at 19 years of age

Writing Voice
Unlike fiction where one has a choice as to what point of view the story is written in, memoir is written in the first person.  The writer is the hero or heroine of the story, the events and experiences happened to the writer. We each have an individual writing voice just like we have an individual singing voice. In writing this is known as our unique or authentic writing voice.

Writing voice can be achieved by identifying with the reason for writing your memoir.  It can then be strengthened as the writer develops his or her life experiences in their chosen subject matter.

Writing voice for publication requires wisdom in hindsight as the writer recounts the incidents of their life however tragic or challenging, in a non-judgmental voice which can include any amount of irony or other emotion.  Jeannette Walls’s memoir, The Glass Castle, is a powerful example of how to translate difficult and horrific family circumstances into a captivating story using a writing voice that serves to tell it like it was.  At one point Wall’s recounts her battle with hunger without a hint of judgment towards her mother. “If we asked Mom about food—in a casual way, because we didn’t want to cause any trouble—she’d simply shrug and say she couldn’t make something out of nothing.  We kids usually kept our hunger to ourselves, but we were always thinking of food and how to get our hands on it.”

Other facets of writing voice include choice of tense, past or present and how best this element fits the particular story in question. Frank McCourt stated that when he started writing Angela’s Ashes in the present tense – that was when he found his writing voice for that memoir.

The memoirist needs to consider all of these aspects of writing voice in the developmental stage of their memoir before putting words on the page so that their voice remains consistent throughout their story.

Writing exercises, establishing your tone and mood, playing with tenses and being aware of the subject matter enhances writing voice and will greatly serve to determine the quality of your writing.  Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Truth
As soon as the word ‘memoir’ is printed on the sleeve cover, the memoirist has an unspoken contract with the reader that they have written the truth. The writer must seek at all times to portray their truth about the event or incident. Another person recounting the same event will almost always have a different slant on it, which will be their internal and emotional truth. Perhaps there is never one real truth in any situation.

So is it possible in writing memoir for every exact detail to be the precise truth? The answer is most definitely no! Details become blurred, for example, an ex-husband may recall his ex-wife stating to him ‘I want a divorce, you will never see your children again’ and will write his emotional truth about this event in his life. His ex-wife, recalling this moment in her life may vividly remember stating to her husband ‘I think I want a divorce which would mean you may never see your children again’.

It is impossible to remember every detail of our lives, of each event that took place right down to the actual dress or suit that someone wore, or perhaps the colour of the wallpaper in Aunt Sally’s room when you were five years old. It is important therefore to be aware of the distinction between making up events, significant moments that shaped your life which subsequently had an impact upon your life and the lives of others – and the colour of Aunt Sally’s wallpaper which had no real significance to the event in question.  On the other hand one should strive to be as accurate as possible with these details. If I remembered Aunt Sally’s room to be musty with sparse furnishing and thread worn carpet, it would resonate more with the story and the event if I included these details as I best remembered them, instead of setting a scene of grandeur.

Therefore, it is the experience in your memoir that you must stay true to as much as possible. In memoir events and people are not made up, otherwise it is fiction.

Developing Writing Skills
Most writers would agree that thought, development and focus provide the backbone to their writing, before putting words on the page. Creativity too plays a huge role and it is equally important in our writing life to nudge this into existence, to wake it up from its often dormant state.

It is not realistic to think that writing is an automatic process and does not require tuition and guidance; it does – just like any art form. Develop your writing skills, approach it with determination. If you want to write memoir, learn the craft of how to do it. Set yourself a schedule. Keep your schedule realistic to your lifestyle. Don’t get disheartened. Read books on memoir. Write often.

If you have a story to tell and have told it well, publishing is always possible.

Enjoy the process of being an apprentice writer.

Memoir Writing Tips

• ascertain why you want to write your memoir
• decide who you want to write your memoir for
• research suitable options to learn the art of memoir writing
• plan your personal writing schedule
• prepare your personal writing space
• gather your previous writings if any
• don’t get stuck in family research
• fulfill your goals
• enjoy the adventure!

Irene Graham’s Workshop, The Memoir Writing Workshop, based on right-brain/left-brain learning and writing techniques, provides and in-depth understanding on every element of memoir writing.

The Memoir Writing Workshop is delivered as a:

• Memoir Writing Course Online | 12-week
• Memoir Writing Masterclass  | LIVE Online | 6-month
• Writing Retreats | Memoir In-Person | 6-day
• Writing Retreats | Memoir Writing Workshop Spain In-Person | 2-day

The Memoir Writing Workshop is now available as a comprehensive online LIVE course to train candidates to teach this highly successful memoir writing program.

• Teaching Memoir Writing Course | 6-month