Action in a memoir overlaps the concept of plot. The two concepts are similar and different.
All plot has action, but not all action has plot.
Generally, most people would probably say an action is “something happening, something without much drama”: e.g. “I walked to the store.” Something is happening, but it has no drama—or little drama. We don’t know what the “I” walked to the store for or how the trip went or what happened there.
A plot is generally made up of several or many actions that are organized to produce some insight, effect or foreshadowing: e.g. “When I walked to the store, I met my cousin and we had a disturbing conversation about our grandparents.”
The first example is a simple action that is not in itself very interesting. It merely says that the “I” went for a walk to the store. The second example combines several actions organized chronologically and containing a value word “disturbing” which contains some suspense: what was disturbing in the conversation about the grandparents? How will it affect the cousins?
Organizing your story along an action line that is segued into a plot is important to your memoir. Your reader needs a hook to keep reading, and that hook is an action that involves a plot whose outcome is uncertain or unknown.
In conclusion
The articles below will inform you about how to write action and plot into your memoir without making anything up. This category is not about how to produce autobiographical fiction!
Monday Focus: What’s happening in your memoir?
In today’s Monday Focus, we discuss what action/plot readers of your memoir need to keep reading. What makes an action in memoir interesting?
A Best Memoir Writing Practice
When learning to write memoir, it can feel awkward and uncomfortable as you learn the process, just like in learning to swim. We often see people who are not comfortable swimming flail about in the water, their heads reaching up high, desperately, to catch a breath of air. They usually execute strokes too fast. This […]
Three Pillars of a Powerful Memoir
There is power in writing your story. Your memoir can transform you as it leads to understanding the energy in your life and ultimately making that energy work for you. The three pillars of a powerful memoir I want to talk about are the old stand-bys of character, action, and setting. A story is not […]
Dramatic story development, rather than dramatic events, adds up to an interesting memoir
To view this post as a YouTube video, click here. — People will sometimes suppose that only big drama can make an interesting memoir. Of course, there are many readers who require constant titillation if they are to remain reading. Perhaps they are not the readers you should be seeking for your memoir. Nonetheless, nearly […]
Four Tips For Moving Your Memoir Plot With Action
Action drives your story and keeps your readers interested. Writing with effective action is the key to creating lifestories that people want to read. Here are four tips for moving your memoir plot with action.
Three Points Not to Forget When You Write Your Money Story
There is power in writing your money story. Your money story can transform you as it leads to understanding the money energy in your life and ultimately making that energy work for you. In this post I write about three features you must utilize in the writing of a money story. These are character, action, […]
Why Action in Writing Is Important
Action in Writing Is Essential In writing a life story, it is important to pay attention to three aspects: action, character, and setting. These will enhance your story every time. To neglect these elements is to risk having your story fall flat. In this article, we will concentrate on action. When you use action in […]