(Not That One) In light of my last piece, I was thinking about the different topics and themes that frame people’s stories, and it occurred to me that a lot of memoir subject matter begins with the letter F. I’m not referring to the one-time unmentioned but now ubiquitous F word, although I’m not judging
Really, there are only two categories with multiple versions of each. If you want to write a memoir rather than a full autobiography, what might you focus on that will resonate with readers? When you get down to it, there are really only two categories of common memoir themes. Category 1: Triumph Feeling you’ve overcome
Writing Through the Wreckage: The Unbearable Weight of Telling My Story by our guest contributor Adriene Caldwell Writing Unbroken: Life Outside the Lines has been the most harrowing journey of my life—more painful, more vulnerable, and more exhausting than I could have ever imagined. And that is saying something, considering the life I’ve lived. Brutally Honest
Are your pastimes and passions worthy of inclusion? Typically, in your memoir you’ll write about your career and family, but what about hobbies and memoir—are they compatible? If you decide that your pastimes and passions worthy of inclusion, how do you present them? The quick answer is yes, anything about yourself that you want readers
It’s not easy to figure out where readers need background info. Knowing how much to explain in your memoir is one of the trickiest aspects of writing it. You may be humming along in a chapter about working at your first job when you hit a roadblock simply because you don’t know whether readers will
What memoir authors can learn from the master of horror narratives. Following up on the previous post, as promised here are the second 10 of the 20 writing tips from Stephen King. 11. There are two secrets to success. “I stayed physically healthy, and I stayed married.” Assuming King means success in writing and not
Even though you’re probably kidding when you refer to the “horror story” that is your memoir, it’s worth checking out this advice. When I came across Stephen King’s 20 tips for writers, I thought they’d probably be apt for memoir authors, not just writers of horror and other fiction. Many do apply, although some are
A look at today’s apps, aids and methods. I’m currently coaching a memoir author who is writing her story with talk-to-text software. Editing her work has me thinking about how many options writers have today compared with not that long ago when the only choices were to type your words on a typewriter or sit
There are so many ways to begin that you can find one you like. Burning desire is often what drives an author to write a memoir. Let’s say you have that. What comes next? As much as you want to get your life down on paper, you may be at a loss about how to
Then just set up a chapter and start writing your memoir. Don’t worry about rules. There are no rules to writing your memoir; there are only trends. These trends are based on techniques and features identified in current top-selling memoirs. At best, they’re the flavor of the month. If you’re capturing your life in print for your family, for your own gratification or to inspire readers, rather than aiming to set off Hollywood screenplay bidding wars, these trends don’t even apply to you. You’ll write the memoir that suits you best, and it will be timeless, not trend-driven.There are no rules, but there are four steps:
1. Theme/framework
2. Writing
3. Editing/polishing
4. Self-publishing
You’ve researched this, too, and you’ve been shocked at the price for getting help with any one of those steps, much less all four. That’s because most memoir sites promise to commercialize your work. They’ll follow a formula based on current memoir trends, because they want to convince you that they can turn your memoir into a best-seller. These sites overwhelm you with unnecessary information not to help you, the memoir author, but to address Search Engine Optimization (SEO) algorithms so they can sell more.
That’s not what we do at Write My Memoirs. Our small community of coaches, writers and editors are every bit as skilled as any you’ll find, and we charge appropriately for their expertise and the time they’ll spend helping you craft a compelling, enjoyable read. But you won’t pay an upcharge for other websites’ commercialization, the marketing that follows, and the pages of intimidating “advice.” You can sell your book if you like—we have ISBNs available for you—but our organic process of capturing your story takes a noncommercial path.
If you want help with any or all of the four steps above, choose from our services or save money by selecting one of our packages. If you’d like to talk about what’s right for you, schedule a call. One year from now, you can be holding your published memoir in your hand. And at that point, it will be a big deal!