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.