In writing a memoir you are confident that your story matters in the greater scheme of things. In Walking on Water, Madeline L’lengle quotes Jean Rhys answering an interviewer in the Paris Review. “Listen to me. All of writing is a huge lake. There are great rivers that feed the lake, like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. And there are mere trickles, like Jean Rhys. All that matters is feeding the lake. I don’t matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake.” Your memoir, then, is feeding that lake of relevance. You are convinced about this.
A STORYTELLING DILEMMA IN WRITING A MEMOIR
Having confidence in showcasing your life on the page is one thing, how to write your personal stories into a memoir is another. What more is required then in writing a memoir? Since this is your story, you should find enough material to fill up the pages. There is no need for a set-up of plot or characters. You have more than enough subplots from experienced events.
Facts of your existence can give you the details of times and places you’ve been. How you were at a specific moment is well documented in your diary. You are the main character of this story, and all subordinate characters have names matching their quirks and differences. So just put these all together and viola, you have a memoir.
But wait, is writing a memoir truly that simple?
To venture into writing a memoir is to embrace its characteristic struggle. There is joy in remembering the good old days, but be ready to flashback to the grimmest phases of your journey as well. There will be that tug between truth-telling and performance. To be real, you cannot rely merely on facts. So how exactly will you go back?
We all start with a single step. Starting on memoir writing, the first step is to make sure that you are well aware that creativity is required. Not merely a recounting but a creative retelling. Not just a chronology but a woven tapestry. How are these demands for creative storytelling different from other writings? What makes is distinct from a short fiction written with an I point of view, an autobiography, or a personal essay?
DEFINING A MEMOIR
Your memoir, your legacy. This means that your desire to detail your days on the pages of a memoir is hoping to impact, affect, or stamp an influence or inspiration. You are writing to be remembered as yourself. This creative work of non-fiction may give you every opportunity to lie and project. Memories can be fabricated as well. But you need to be honest and devoid of egoistic tendencies for your story to resonate. Your memories may not be exact, but still, your aim is to tell your story well.
In his paper “All Writing is Autobiography,” Dan Murray argues that all writers source their materials from their personal experiences. Whether they are writing a poem, a short story, a novel, or a piece of literary journalism, a writer is always autobiographical. However, an essay, poetry, or a short story can camouflage the self. Yet from its inception to its structure, yourself is a project for disclosure in writing your memoir.
CURATING YOUR LIFE
In writing your memoir, you must decide on the dominant theme or aspect of your journey. Art curators will not merely collect pieces of artwork, but in doing so, they also make sure that the works fit a theme or message. They are hoping to guide their guests to a gainful art appreciation. As the writer of your memoir, your aim is like that of an art curator. Since you will exhibit details and memories of your lifetime, you need to think carefully about what to include in your showcase.
An artist’s oeuvre is almost always appreciated based on the stages of their development and their commercial value. You will decide and select the experiences leaning toward a central thought or intention. Your memoir as a retrospective showcase of memories must capture the essence of your curated life.
ABOUT STYLE IN WRITING A MEMOIR
A type of creative non-fiction, an engaging memoir uses all the devices of fiction writing. You can develop your memoir using a narrative arc, an engaging plot, an effective character development strategy, and a lyrical telling. All these will weave details of every time and space into a full grasp of your life’s circumstances. There is no shying away from mimicking the dramatic strategies in play. Memoirs can proceed stylistically through dialogue and conversations. The form and structure can vary, but the memoir shall remain true to the lived life, disallowing style to delude the authenticity.
A memoir relies on memory. Facts are important, but the memoir has the liberty to give prominence to personal recollections. This poses a dilemma since memories are unreliable. If your memories do matter at all, it’s because your writing style achieved an affective resonance. Your reader can relate to your true personal experience because you were able to weave your tale in a way that highlighted an emotion. Most memoirists admit to their memories being infallible and poke at the reliability of their recollections. This adds to the authenticity of their telling.
ANTICIPATING AN AUDIENCE
Anybody can write a memoir but not everybody will relate to a published memoir. It seems irrelevant to pinpoint a target reader, although each memoir will have a definite audience. Thus, the motivation and intention of writing a memoir can be that one definite recipient, whose shadow is vague at the moment of writing. Somebody has had the same trauma, has been to many places, has achieved professional milestones, has overcome physical deficiencies, has witnessed the worst calamities, and so on. Every memoir is proof that all lives matter. In writing a memoir, you are anticipating that one special audience to witness your infinite becoming.
