For today’s topic. I would like to discuss the art and craft of writing a memorable memoir.
Heck, I know what a memoir is. It’s like when my Aunt Jennie came to Thanksgiving and lost her glass eye in the dressing that Cousin Polly served to Uncle Seth who cracked his false tooth on it.
No, not memoir.
No? Well then, how about when we all went around the mountain for Christmas and grandpa killed the old red rooster so grandma could make chicken and dumplings to go with all the potluck dishes we brought?
Sorry, still not memoir.
But those are my memories and memoirs are my memories. Aren’t they?
While it’s true that a memoir starts with memory it is more than merely a vignette, which is not to imply that vignettes are not interesting or don’t have a place in literature. While a vignette is a short description rooted in time and place, that may be fictional or nonfictional, a memoir grows out of a nonfictional event that may be striking, or even unusual, in character and temper. And, in that growth, a memoir offers something more than a picture of the events that inspired it – it offers insight into causation and the emotional truths that embody the human experience. In other words, think of the memoir as the aforementioned vignette that has been imbued with the substance of significance.
Whoa, that sounds a bit heady when all you’re really talking about is an autobiography.
It may seem like that may be the case but let’s look at the particulars. In its simplest form, an autobiography is the account of a person’s life (aka, biography) written by the person who lived it. An autobiography is also expected to be a true and accurate (or at least close) account of the events portrayed. A memoir, however, is permitted to explore beyond the realm of nonfiction in the pursuit of the emotional truths that make for a memorable and impactful story. This means that, in memoir, both memory and reality may be skewed, if not sometimes sacrificed, in order to honor truth and story. We often refer to this as creative nonfiction.
So, I can just lie through my teeth, make up whatever I want, and call it memoir?
Yes, you can. The truth is you can call anything you want, whatever you want, whenever you want. In fact, some advertisers, politicians, reporters, and other spin doctors do this collectively thousands, if not millions, of times every day, day in and day out – and are, sadly, well paid for it. But, just because they, or you, say that it’s so doesn’t mean it is. While the truth is you can lie the corresponding truth is that people will see the lies for what they are and you, as the author, will lose your credibility.
All right, okay, what then makes a memoir memorable if it’s not a string of lies?
For the purpose of this discussion I am focusing upon the short memoirs that, like a short story, may be read in a single sitting such as the ones that would be included in newsletters, magazines, and anthologies. With that said a memorable memoir is:
• Focused: The memoir will focus on a single significant, or noteworthy, event that is memorable, occurs in a single or narrowly variant setting, and occurs in a brief or narrowly convergent time line.
• A narrowly variant setting is one that transitions with the theme. Take a camping trip, for example. I begin at home packing the car, then on the road driving, stopping for lunch at an A&W, and arriving at the campsite. All of these settings/locations are restricted to the theme of camping.
• A narrowly convergent time line is one that also transitions as part of the overall theme. For example, every year I make a pilgrimage to the burial site of a friend who committed suicide in high school. While this memoir may span decades it is still focused on the theme of suicide and remorse with plenty of room for those aha insights.
• Sensory: The memoir will include the author’s sensory impressions. Usually, this will be limited to only a few senses but may be expanded to include a wider variety – given again, that the senses employed are all contributing to the theme of the story.
• When writing memoir the author should not restrict themselves to the five classic senses of; smell, taste, touch, sight, and hearing when there are so many more sensory inputs. A few additional senses include; proprioception, equilibrioception, nociception, thermoception, and chemoreception. All in all, authors name somewhere between 21 and 33 human senses, depending on whether or not they invest themselves in the presence of psychic abilities.
• Abridged: The memoir should be pared down to its essentials in order to tell the story and keep the narrative from becoming muddled and meandered. For example, in the camping narrative above, there might have been four or even five of you making the trip but if the story can be told, and its message delivered, better with two persons than make it two.
• Methodical: When writing your memoir use the same methods and techniques that are employed in fiction, and storytelling in general. In particular, pay close attention to that all-important theme that I’ve named and alluded to in the preceding paragraphs. In a memoir, or short piece of fiction, designed to be read in a single setting having too many themes (and/or threads) will cause the reader to lose track and miss the whole point of your memoir.
• While it is my opinion that theme is the glue that binds a memoir, the author should not neglect any of the other important aspects of good storytelling including techniques such as; plot, setting, characterization, tone, description, and dialogue.
• Enlightening: A memorable memoir will enlighten. That is, a memoir will reveal a moment of epiphany, a truth or a lie, a growth or a falling back, or a sense of awe or one of disillusionment. It’s about the changes that force us to become different than we were before. In other words, a memoir demonstrates movement from one state of existence to another – it is not a static vignette (no matter how beautifully written it might be).
Well, that’s a lot of words to take in but what does it all really mean?
If you want to make a memorable memoir use a noteworthy event, keep it relevant and tight, tantalize the senses, be methodical in its telling, and demonstrate a change upon the journey from beginning to end.
Where can I go for further information on writing memorable memoirs?
An online search using phrases such as: how to write a memoir, what is a memoir, memoir writing prompts, or memoir tips will present more pages than can possibly be read. Usually, the ones that filter toward the top are either paid for or have been retrieved more frequently. All should be absorbed with an intelligent eye. Books I recommend from those days in the long ago when I taught memoir include the following:
• Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past, William Zinsser
• Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir, various edited by William Zinsser
Samuel Thomas Nichols
