What are you going to write about? Not only write about but also do so in a meaningful and interesting manner. Before you attempt to start to write, gather information for your memoir.
Some of that information you already know and you have only to look inward to connect with it again. This info can be collated with that greatest of memoir-writing tools, the Memory List.
Other info is beyond recollection and memory. That is, you probably never knew it or knew it only vaguely, but it is important to giving your story depth and credibility. For instance, in what year did the Baptist church burn to the ground—important if your father was the minister! Or, when was the school district consolidated? This is important if your mother lost her teaching job as a result of the merger.
Finding cause and effect
This information is often useful to making cause and effect sequencing. If the school closed in 1961 but your mother began freelance reporting for the local newspaper in 1959, then the closing may have precipitated her becoming a full-time reporter in 1961 rather than later, but it was not really the reason she went into journalism. The reason now seems to be one of interest.
Some of the info you gather will provide a historical background while other material will help you to assess decisions and outcomes. You have to do some research to gather this material. It is cultural and political and historical information that is not available by recall. It can only be found by some sort of research. It is very important in creating context for a memoir. This context is generally your setting.
In conclusion
By clicking on the links below, you will pick up many suggestions for researching to write a more meaningful memoir, where to go to gather information and how to “harvest” it and use it.
8 Tips: How to Have a Successful Memoir Interview
A successful memoir interview will add depth to your memoir. While you know much about your story, it is always beneficial to gather information from other sources to fill in the gaps. These sources can be formal research on the net or in a library or it can be reviewing letters and journals or talking […]
History And Memoir Writing
I live in the area (Lewiston, Maine) where my great-grandparents, my grandparents and parents–and now me–spent their lives, and I am also an amateur historian of this region. When I was asked to speak at a library lunchtime program several years ago, I chose a topic similar to Linda Myers’ topic: Lewiston’s Buildings Tell Our […]
Should You Create an Outline or a Memory List for your Memoir?
I do not write a memoir from an outline. Instead I create a Memory List as outlined in Chapter 2 of Turning Memories Into Memoirs. The Memory List helps you to follow the promptings of the unconscious rather than the dictates of the conscious mind as is the case with an outline. (An outline is […]
Facts Are Important in Memoir Writing
Facts are important in memoir writing. The inclusion of dates, addresses, names, and relationships, are one of its special features. Memoir writing cannot, without deleting from its value, omit dates and specific identification of locales, names of individuals and their relationships to one another. Memoir writing is factual writing: hence the importance of facts. A […]
Write a memoir: practical how-to information to ace it.
As you write a memoir, you will find that you need much more information about technique or about style or about research or any number of other topics. Unless you have been writing much over the years, this is likely to be you. Going to the library for information is a necessary next step for […]
Memoir Interviewing: how to prepare for one and carry it off!
Memoir interviewing is an integral piece of research. Although you may assume you can depend on your memory when you write your lifestories—memory isn’t always as reliable as you want it to be. Interviews with relevant family members and friends can supplement your memory and broaden the perspective of your memoir. Below are some notes […]
You Need Formal Research
Interviewing family members and friends is clearly a form of research, but interviews alone are usually not enough to give your stories the depth they require. For that, you need formal research.
Best Interview Practices for Writing a Memoir
Can you assume you can depend on your memory when you write your lifestories? The problem with this assumption is that memory isn’t always as reliable as you may want it to be! What are the best interview practices to find out if your memory is spot on?
Instead of A Writing Prompt – Five Tips for Creating a Memory List
People who are writing a memoir will sometimes say, “I want to write my stories but I have forgotten so many details. Is there any way I can get them back? Should I use writing prompts?” There is one tool above all others that makes the experience of life writing successful. That tool is not […]