Family Stories, Memoir, Biography--What's the Difference?

Both readers and writers sometimes get confused about the difference between family stories, memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies. They're all about peoples' lives, aren't they? Yes, but there are also distinct differences in the four. In addition, they are all nonfiction.

Family Stories:  These are pieces of family history. Each individual story tells about a person and/or event. You might be writing about your grandfather who came to America on a ship in 1925. Or about your grandmother who had the biggest vegetable garden in the county. Or maybe your Aunt Nellie whose wedding was ruined by a tornado. Or your great-aunt Olivia who did animal impersonations. Or about Uncle Henry who suffered from depression. These stories will give younger and future family members a picture of their extended family or ancestors. They are usually written for the family to read, not for publication. Although, the person writing the family stories can assemble them into a book. They need not be chronological. Assemble them any way you want to. Occasionally, a family story can be submitted to a magazine or anthology, but that is not the number one aim.

Biography:  It's a look at a person's life from birth to the present or when death occurred. Another person writes the life story after interviews and research. Biographies are usually about a historical figure or a celebrity--a known name. We often read biographies of a person we've admired and would like to know more about his/her life. Authors of biographies want publication

Autobiography:  This kind of book is basically the same as a biography, but it is written by a person about his/her own life. To me, it feels more personal and appears that the reader is able to see the writer's own thoughts and feelings about the events in that person's life from birth to the present. Again, the author hopes for publication.

Memoir:  Memoir can be divided into two categories--long and short. The long, of course, is a full book while the short can be a 1000 word piece. Memoirs are narrower in scope than a biography. Instead of relating the story of a life in chronological order, it focuses on a situation, a problem, or a relationship. It is limited to a phase or time period and is based on feelings and memories. Memoir books appear to be quite popular today. For some reason, readers enjoy being privy to the life of another person, to see what obstacles they faced and how they did so. Short memoir pieces work well for anthologies like Chicken Soup for the Soul or for contests. Those who write memoirs are striving for publication.