How to Write a Memoir 13 Key Elements of a Memoir You Need

How to Write a Memoir 13 Key Elements of a Memoir You Need How to Write a Memoir: 13 Key Elements of a Memoir You Need Learning how to write a memoir might seem simpleYou may think it easy to jot down details about your life in a cohesive, entertaining fashionbut there’s quite a bit more to.And you probably dont even know what youre missing.Memoirs can be very complex pieces of work. It takes a lot of skill and craft to be able to write down intimate details about your life for others to read and learn from. Which means learning how to write a memoir can be really hard.But the great part?Writing a memoir is both empowering and rewarding, and when broken down into these feasible steps, it’s something you can learn to master in no time.Heres how to write a memoir in 13 steps:Choose your memoir themeList associating memoriesAdd others related memoriesWrite your memoir truthfullyShow, dont tell in your memoirGet vulnerableMake connections with each storyAdd the impact in your life todayPut your personality into itWrite a memoir you want to readHow many people can say they wrote a book detai ling the most impactful moments of their lives?Not many.And by taking this leap and diving head first into your memories and entire life, you’re reaching new heights for yourself and you may even enlighten others by the end of your journey. What is a memoir?A memoir is a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources. Its a book about your life, the lessons learned, and key moments that shaped who you are.We all typically think of a memoir and cringe a little at the idea of a book about someone else’s life. But that’s not all a memoir is!Essentially, this is a book written by you about key moments in your life. You bring your memories to life in order to touch on an overarching message others can learn and grow from.Its like the highlight reel from your diary (if you ever had one) about the experiences that shaped your life.NOTE: We cover everything in this blog post and much more about the writing, marketing, and publishing p rocess in our VIP Self-Publishing Program. Learn more about it hereWhat Qualifies as a Memoir?A memoir is unique in the fact that it covers your lifes events in a more story-like structure with an overarching theme or messaged written in.This means that how tos, motivational books, and other topics dont qualify as a memoir. Memoirs are very specific in the sense that it accounts for the entirety of your life with an emphasis on stories and impactful moments that lead to a great purpose.Writing a memoir is both empowering and rewarding, and when broken down into these feasible steps, it’s something you can learn to master in no time.Click To TweetMemoir DefinitionA memoir is a historical account written with personal knowledge and experience covering the lifetime of an individual, usually with a greater purpose or message within it.How is this different than an autobiography? I know what you’re thinking, â€Å"Aren’t they the same thing?†With so many genre s and writing terminology out there, knowing the differences between a memoir vs autobiography, (aka works of writing that are basicall the same) can be confusing.They’re both about someone’s life written by themselves, right? Right.But they do differ in a single way that really makes a memoir vs an autobiography completely different in terms of their end results.A memoir typically covers one aspect of a writer’s life (or a continuous theme through memories), while an autobiography is a chronological account of the writer’s life.So if you want to write a play-by-play of your entire life from the moment you popped into this world to the very second you started writing, you’d write an autobiography.But if you’re looking to share a profound message with the world through your own real-life experiences, you’ll write a memoir. How to Write a Memoir with Meaning and InfluenceWriting a memoir can not only be a valuable experience for you, bu t the impact it may have on other people is astounding too.You have a life worth something. You have experiences that led you to a very specific place in life, and you know what?Others have undoubtedly been in your shoes before and will benefit from you writing a book.Essentially, you can teach others how to get through what you did or even how to learn from their own journeys just as you have yours.That’s the meaning of a memoir and its influence knows no bounds.What are theKeyElementsofaMemoir?Writing a memoir can be difficult simply because it’s about your life. Somehow, we find it too hard to put our own lives into words through a meaningful message.How do you really sum up an accumulation of years and years of experience in only a couple hundred pages?We’ll help you learn how to write a memoir worth reading and sharing.History is written by the victors, but its victims who write the memoirs. ― Carol TavrisClick To Tweet#1 Choose your focus or theme A memoir isn’t just a list of all the experiences in your life. If it were, you’d call it an autobiography.What sets memoirs apart from a simple retelling of your life is an overarching theme or message that others can take away from it and that you personally learned from the stories you share.Think about what you want others to take away from reading your memoir.What will they learn or realize or gain from reading about your life? You can ask yourself those very same questions about your life to find the answers.What have you learned throughout your life? What’s the number 1 message that your experiences have taught you?Once you have that big, broad idea, the real work begins.#2 List all associating memoriesIt’s time to do a little mind mapping.Now that you know the overall theme and message of your memoir and what will set it apart, you have to connect the dots of your life to that core focus.Here are a few areas to think about specifically to help j og some of those memories in order to help you know how to write a memoir worth reading: There are so many areas that have a direct influence over how you perceive life as a whole. You just have to do a little digging to spark some specific memories that can circle back to the overarching theme of your memoir.#3 Add others’ related storiesI know this is a book about yourlife but it never hurts to back up your own experiences with someone else’s or many other people’s.Knowing how to write a memoir involves knowing when your message will be loudest. And that’s often with additional stories from others.Sometimes you cant always get the message across if only you have experienced it. To get readers to relate, you might have to show them that many people experience the same thing.One of the most powerful connections you can make to benefit from the message of your memoir is to show your readers that it’s not just you.Others have gone through the same situations you have and came out with the same perspective.This one requires some extensiv e research (and maybe even an interview or two), but possessing the ability to be credible in your readers’ eyes is crucial. And obviously, youll want to make sure youre using their experiences legally in your memoir.You can even interview family or friends who might see an experience you share differently than you.Adding those details will strengthen your core message.Heres a checklist of what your memoir should include in order to complete and at its best:Elements of a MemoirDetailsIntroductionA snippet of what your life is like now and why you're writing this memoirCore theme/messageEach memoir should have an overall theme or message that one can take away when they've finished reading.HonestyWriting a memoir without honesty will come across on the pages. Readers will be able to tell and will be pulled out of the book because of this.Entertainment valueNobody wants to read a memoir that's written like a textbook. Create entertainment value through the stories you tell.Supp orting storiesBecause you have an overall theme, it needs supporting stories from your life to back it up.Intriguing writingOnce again, a memoir is still a book and therefore, it cannot read like a textbook. Great writing is necessary for a great book.Overall arcYour life has an arc and your memoir's purpose is to show this through lessons learned from start to end.#4 Write truthfullyOne of the hardest parts about writing a memoir is the fact that we tend to be a wee bit biased with ourselves.*Gasp* You don’t say!It’s true. Nobody really likes to admit their faults. It’s one thing to recognize when you were wrong in life, it’s another to actually write it down for the world to see.It’s hard. We want everyone to see the best version of ourselves and therefore, we leave out details or flat out lie to seem â€Å"better† in their eyes.But that’s not what makes a good memoir. In order to learn how to write a memoir that really touches peo ple in deep, emotional ways, you have to learn to be honest.#5 Show, don’t tellNo, this doesn’t mean you have to write a picture book. That’s not what â€Å"show† means in this case.When it comes to creating intrigue with your writing and trust me, you want to do this, especially for a memoir you have to write by showing, not telling.For the sake of brevity, I’ll just give you an overview of this writing technique, but if you’re interested in mastering the ability to pull readers in, you can check out this detailed explanation.Essentially, showing versus telling is the way in which you describe your experiences with an emphasis on emotion.But that doesn’t mean you should write down every feeling you had during a specific time. In fact, that’s what you want to avoid.We’ll cover this in more detail below,but heres agreatvideooutlining this method↓ #6 Get vulnerableMemoirs are not a time to distance yourself from your inner feelings.Quite the opposite, actually.It’s time to dig deep and show the world what kind of author you are through your life experiences by getting vulnerable.Open yourself up to the truth behind who you are today. If you shield yourself in any way, it’s going to be obvious on the pages of your memoir and therefore, not as effective.At first, you may want to cringe while writing certain memories but after a few days, you’ll find it easier to share your truth.And best of all? You’ll be happy you did.#7 Make connections with each storyYou have your focus, right? Having that overarching message is going to help you tie all of your memories together in a cohesive manner.Each story you tell whether it’s yours or someone else’s has to connect to your focus in order for that theme to come across to your readers.But they don’t all have to directly relate to your focus.Some experiences may have led you to moments of realization that then led you to other events that tie into the main message you want others to gain from reading your memoir.Think of it this way: you want to connect the dots so by the time the readeris finished, the message comes full circle.#8 Talk about how everything affects your life todayUsually, writing a memoir is about looking back on your life and determining how you made it to who you are today. What events lead to the very core of who you are right now?That means your memoir will include inside peeks into your life as you live it now.Each chapter should bring your readers back to your presents to EmulateSometimes its easier to learn by example. That way, you can fully comprehend what a memoir is in order to write your own.These are famous memoir examples:A Moveable Feast by Ernest HemingwayWest with the Night by Beryl MarkhamPersonal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant by Ulysses GrantOut of Africa by Isak DinesenThe Story of My Life by Helen KellerI Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Talibanby Malala YousafzaiReading Lolita in Tehranby Azar Nafisi.My Beloved Worldby Sonia SotomayorFun Homeby Alison BechdelHunger: A Memoir of (My) Bodyby Roxane GayMemoir examples by our own students:Mile-High Missionary: A Jungle Pilots Memoir by Jim ManleyWalking My Momma Home: Finding Love, Grace, and Acceptance Through the Labyrinth of Dementia by Kathy FloraPrayers, Punk Rock and Pastryby Chris StewartBare Naked Bravery: How to Be Creatively Courageous by Emily Ann PetersonShift Happens: Turning Your Stumbling Blocks into Stepping Stones by Jill RogersThis is the Story of Your LifeThe biggest takeaway here is that this is your story, it’s your life, and therefore, it should be told just as you want it to be.There’s nothing more freeing than having the ability to articulate your life experiences in a way that will truly speak to others and potentially change their lives.Do you want to change lives and help others through the same tur moil you’ve experienced? By self-publishing your memoir, you’ll be rewarded for all of your honest hard work with more than just additional income.You will be responsible for changing and shaping the lives of others.Start Your Memoir TODAY!The work doesn’t just stop when you learn how to write a memoir.In fact, it’s just beginning! Here are a few steps you can use to start your memoir and make some progress.#1 Begin your trainingIts NEVER too early to start working toward your dreams and goals of becoming an author. In fact, you shouldnt waste any time!