More On Memoir Writing

I had the pleasure and privilege of being a Guest Blogger on Kathy Pooler's memoir blog/website. The post went up yesterday and will be there all week. Kathy told me to pick the topic so I went with why we write and why we read memoir. You can read it here. Kathy did a  splendid job with the layout and my photo and a nice intro about me. She's a new friend and a lovely person. I recently read her memoir Ever Faithful To His Lead and enjoyed reading about how she triumphed, with the help of God, over more than one bad marriage.

Some of the comments I received on my post at Kathy's blog and facebook pages where I posted a link were quite interesting to me. It seems that a majority of people consider memoir writing to involve writing an entire book. I write short memoir pieces, focusing on one part of life in the past. It' might only be 1200 words but it's still a memoir piece.

I always encourage writers to start small and work up to writing a full length book, whether it be a novel, a memoir, a book of poems or a nonfiction how-to book. If you begin with a major project like a book, you could easily become discouraged. It's a whole lot easier to pick a snippet of a lifetime and write about it.

Consider writing the bits and pieces that would make up a full book one at a time. When you have a reasonable number, arrange them in the best order and you're well on your way to a full book. I've thought about doing it many times but have not gotten there yet.

Granted, a full memoir book is based on a particular theme--abusive behavior of a loved one, loss, poverty, triumph over travesty. So, you would want all the snippets you've written to be geared to that theme. Or it could just be a full book about growing up in Tanzania or New York City or on a Montana ranch. Nothing is set in concrete. It's your writing journey (as talked about here yesterday)

Ever been around a table at a family gathering or when old friends get together and heard the phrase Remember when....? We all have. Those conversations are the stuff memoir stories are made of.  You cannot, however, just talk about them, laughter or tears included, someone has to write them. Why not you?

Some people are still confused by the difference between a memoir and a biography. A good article that explains the difference can be read here. Note that the explanation can apply to full books or those short pieces I've talked about.