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Memoir writing process

Memoir Teacher for Hire

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Memoir Teacher for Hire
If you can get a group together and want to hold a memoir workshop, there’s a teacher who will come to you. His name is Thomas Larson; go to thomaslarson.com for details about him. Write My Memoirs has nothing to do with Thomas or his workshops. We neither vouch for him nor receive any type of commission from him. However, he’s a member of the faculty at Ashland University in Ohio and the author of The Memoir and the Memoirist: Reading and Writing Personal Narrative; he seems like the real deal to me. Perhaps you can ask your local library or high school to contact him at to********@*******al.net for pricing information.
He begins his workshop by exploring the differences between traditional autobiography and contemporary memoir. Then he gets to the nitty-gritty of helping participants figure out how to begin, where to focus, which episodes of your life will make interesting topics, how to “discover the emotional truth” of your story and the various literary elements that come into play. By the end of the workshop, you should have a draft of a chapter or section of your story.
“Many of us have lived fascinating lives whether inwardly or outwardly, during childhood long ago or as adults in the last decade,” Thomas writes on his website. He sums up the definition of a modern memoir as “a story that focuses on the meaning and intensity of a singular relationship in the author’s life—unresolved feelings for a parent, a child, a sibling, a friend; coming to terms with a loss, an illness, a death; remembering a significant phase like childhood or adolescence or a period like college in which the writer was challenged or changed.”

If you can get a group together and want to hold a memoir workshop, there’s a teacher who will come to you. His name is Thomas Larson; go to thomaslarson.com for details about him. Write My Memoirs has nothing to do with Thomas or his workshops. We neither vouch for him nor receive any type of commission from him. However, he’s a member of the faculty at Ashland University in Ohio and the author of The Memoir and the Memoirist: Reading and Writing Personal Narrative; he seems like the real deal to me. Perhaps you can ask your local library or high school to contact him at to********@*******al.net for pricing information.

He begins his workshop by exploring the differences between traditional autobiography and contemporary memoir. Then he gets to the nitty-gritty of helping participants figure out how to begin, where to focus, which episodes of your life will make interesting topics, how to “discover the emotional truth” of your story and the various literary elements that come into play. By the end of the workshop, you should have a draft of a chapter or section of your story.

“Many of us have lived fascinating lives whether inwardly or outwardly, during childhood long ago or as adults in the last decade,” Thomas writes on his website. He sums up the definition of a modern memoir as “a story that focuses on the meaning and intensity of a singular relationship in the author’s life—unresolved feelings for a parent, a child, a sibling, a friend; coming to terms with a loss, an illness, a death; remembering a significant phase like childhood or adolescence or a period like college in which the writer was challenged or changed.”

Take a Scholarly Approach to Memoir Writing

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Take a Scholarly Approach to Memoir Writing
Most of our members here on WriteMyMemoirs are not professional writers and would not consider themselves serious students of writing or autobiography. But perhaps some of you do fall into the category of “writing scholar.” If you’d love learning more about biography and autobiography, I recommend looking into the International Auto/Biography Association (IABA), which meets annually for a scholarly convention that each year explores a different aspect of crafting a life story and is held in a selected fabulous global city.
On that website, you may notice an invitation to submit an abstract if you’re interested in serving on a panel at the annual convention of a different group, the Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA). According to NeMLA, this panel “will address the narrative and socio-political relationships between contemporary memoir and self-help. Topics may include, but are not limited to: narrative analyses of popular self-help texts; the co-evolution of memoir and self-help; how the narrative of self-help embeds itself in memoir; revisiting trauma in a public forum.”
The NeMLA convention takes place March 21-24, 2013, but the deadline to submit an abstract is coming up on September 30. It would be great to have a WriteMyMemoirs member serve on the panel or just attend this event and report back to us. In any case, on the next blog let’s discuss the memoir/self-help connection. If NeMLA is creating an entire panel presentation on the topic, there must be a lot to talk about!

Most of our members here on WriteMyMemoirs are neither professional writers nor would consider themselves serious students of writing or autobiography. But perhaps some of you do fall into the category of “writing scholar.” If you’d love to learn more about biography and autobiography, I recommend looking into the International Auto/Biography Association (IABA), which meets annually for a scholarly convention that each year explores a different aspect of crafting a life story and is held in a selected fabulous global city.

On that website, you may notice an invitation to submit an abstract if you’re interested in serving on a panel at the annual convention of a different group, the Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA). The topic is: Together after Oprah: Theorizing Contemporary Memoir via Self-Help Discourse. According to NeMLA, this panel “will address the narrative and socio-political relationships between contemporary memoir and self-help. Topics may include, but are not limited to: narrative analyses of popular self-help texts; the co-evolution of memoir and self-help; how the narrative of self-help embeds itself in memoir; revisiting trauma in a public forum.”

The NeMLA convention takes place March 21-24, 2013, but the deadline to submit an abstract is coming up on September 30. It would be great to have a WriteMyMemoirs member serve on the panel or just attend this event and report back to us. In any case, on the next blog let’s discuss the memoir/self-help connection. If NeMLA is creating an entire panel presentation on the topic, there must be a lot to talk about!

Writing Your Memoir Dedication

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When you signed up for Write My Memoirs and began filling out your “interview” questionnaire to create a time line to guide your writing, you probably noticed an optional space to insert your Dedication. If you publish your memoir—and we hope you do!—as with any other book, you may want to include a dedication.
Typically, the dedication expresses gratitude to one or more loved ones for helping with the book or just for being in your life. But don’t feel that you must be typical. You can dedicate your book to your cat, your computer or yourself if you like. I’ve gathered up a few links to websites that may give you some ideas:
A dedication trivia quiz. See how much you know about authors and their book dedications! And don’t feel bad if you don’t do well. Most of the questions are difficult.
Celebrity dedications. Deeming that the dedication “is arguably the most personal part of a story,” the Daily Beast’s Kara Cutruzzula offers some of the odder dedications in celebrity memoirs. Read how celebs ranging from Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Stewart to Anne Heche and both Mr. and Mrs. Ozzy Osbourne dedicate their autobiographies.
Blogger favorites. The author of a blog called “Wanton Creations” shares some favorite book dedications.
Choose your dedication type. A blogger at WordServeWaterCooler and lists seven categories of book dedication, with examples of each: loving; curious; striving; funny; touching; sentimental; and predictable.
Enjoy, and let us know how you’re deciding what to write in your memoir dedication!

When you signed up for Write My Memoirs and began filling out your “interview” questionnaire to create a time line to guide your writing, you probably noticed an optional space to insert your Dedication. If you publish your memoir—and we hope you do!—as with any other book, you may want to include a dedication.

Typically, the dedication expresses gratitude to one or more loved ones for helping with the book or just for being in your life. But don’t feel that you must be typical. You can dedicate your book to your cat, your computer or yourself if you like. I’ve gathered up a few links to websites that may give you some ideas:

  • A dedication trivia quiz. Take this quiz to see how much you know about authors and their book dedications! And don’t feel bad if you don’t do well. Most of the questions are difficult.
  • Celebrity dedications. Deeming that the dedication “is arguably the most personal part of a story,” the Daily Beast’s Kara Cutruzzula offers some of the odder dedications in celebrity memoirs. Read how celebs ranging from Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Stewart to Anne Heche and both Mr. and Mrs. Ozzy Osbourne dedicate their autobiographies.
  • Blogger favorites. The author of a blog called “Wanton Creations” shares some favorite book dedications.
  • Choose your dedication type. A blogger at WordServeWaterCooler lists seven categories of book dedication, with examples of each: loving; curious; striving; funny; touching; sentimental; and predictable.

Enjoy, and let us know how you’re deciding what to write in your memoir dedication!

Helen Gurly Brown’s Legacy: “Writer’s Rules”

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Helen Gurly Brown’s Legacy: “Writer’s Rules”
Helen Gurly Brown’s recent death brought back memories of how Sex and the Single Girl, the book that made her famous, resonated with single women and inspired Brown to start Cosmopolitan magazine. But it’s a lesser known work that Brown authored—The Writer’s Rules: The Power Of Positive Prose: How To Create It And Get It Published—that has a few lessons for our members here at Write My Memoirs.
If you would like to spend an interesting half hour, check out the video interview of Helen Gurly Brown on the PBS program, The Open Mind, in which she discusses her “writer’s rules.” Although the book has many more, in the interview Helen shares five rules:
1. Don’t use the same word more than once in a sentence or even in a paragraph.
2. Use “it” and “that” sparingly and never to start a sentence.
3. Vary your sentence structure. Don’t become monotonous with, “I worked in a factory. I assembled parts. I enjoyed my work. I had hobbies, too.”
4. Stick to the subject. Don’t force the reader to go back and figure out what you’re talking about.
5. Avoid cliches. It’s lazy to rely on old sayings instead of creatively coming up with your own ways of expressing thoughts.
During the interview, Helen encouraged everyone who wanted to write to just get started! Keep a journal, she advised. Write love letters. Email your friends to tell them what you’ve been doing. She reminds viewers that she was 40 when her first book was published.
“Writing is not a chore,” she says in the interview. “It doesn’t take self-discipline. It’s really kind of an indulgence to write about yourself, to write your thoughts, to write your dreams.” That’s exactly what we think here at Write My Memoirs!

Helen Gurly Brown’s recent death brought back memories of how Sex and the Single Girl, the book that made her famous, resonated with single women and inspired Brown to start Cosmopolitan magazine. But it’s a lesser known work that Brown authored—The Writer’s Rules: The Power Of Positive Prose: How To Create It And Get It Published—that has a few lessons for our members here at Write My Memoirs.

If you would like to spend an interesting half hour, check out the video interview of Helen Gurly Brown on the PBS program, The Open Mind, in which she discusses her “writer’s rules.” Although the book has many more, in the interview Helen shares five rules:

  1. Don’t use the same word more than once in a sentence or even in a paragraph.
  2. Use “it” and “that” sparingly and never to start a sentence.
  3. Vary your sentence structure. Don’t become monotonous with, “I worked in a factory. I assembled parts. I enjoyed my work. I had hobbies, too.”
  4. Stick to the subject. Don’t force the reader to go back and figure out what you’re talking about.
  5. Avoid cliches. It’s lazy to rely on old sayings instead of creatively coming up with your own ways of expressing thoughts.

During the interview, Helen encourages everyone who wants to write to just get started! Keep a journal, she advises. Write love letters. Email your friends to tell them what you’ve been doing. She reminds viewers that she was 40 when her first book was published.

“Writing is not a chore,” she says in the interview. “It doesn’t take self-discipline. It’s really kind of an indulgence to write about yourself, to write your thoughts, to write your dreams.” That’s exactly what we think here at Write My Memoirs!

Join—or Start!—a Memoirs Writing Group

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Join—or Start!—a Memoirs Writing Group
Many goals are easier to achieve in a group setting, where support and encouragement are built in. People join Weight Watchers, take exercise classes and go to AA meetings in order to pursue a goal—and the same strategy can apply to memoir writing. Hook up with other memoir writers, and you’ll find the inspiration and motivation you may be having trouble developing on your own.
First, check your local senior center, the most likely organization to hold a formal memoirs writing class or informal group meeting. Even if your age doesn’t qualify you as a senior, they’re unlikely to turn you away—and this tends to be either free or very affordable. Libraries are another good bet; click here for an account of a longstanding memoirs class held at the public library in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
If you can’t find a memoirs group in your area, how hard would it be to start one? According to Cathy Fulton, it’s not difficult at all. She did it and then wrote a book about it: Facilitating a Lifewriting Group is Easy. Fulton found that weekly, two-hour meetings work best, with most of the time devoted to having the members read their stories and the rest asking questions or providing positive feedback. A discussion about a topic of choice and a 10-minute break fill up the remainder of the time.
If you join or form a memoir writing group, please email us to let us know! If you would ever want one of us to speak at your meeting, we would be happy to do that for nothing more than the reimbursement of travel costs from our Chicago location.
http://olos.ala.org/columns/?p=31
http://www.capturingmemories.com/starting.html
http://www.capturingmemories.com/resources_capmem.html

Many goals are easier to achieve in a group setting, where support and encouragement are built in. People join Weight Watchers, take exercise classes and go to AA meetings in order to pursue a goal—and the same strategy can apply to memoir writing. Hook up with other memoir writers, and you’ll find the inspiration and motivation you may be having trouble developing on your own.

First, check your local senior center, the most likely organization to hold a formal memoirs writing class or informal group meeting. Even if your age doesn’t qualify you as a senior, they’re unlikely to turn you away—and this tends to be either free or very affordable. Libraries are another good bet; click here for an account of a longstanding memoirs class held at the public library in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

If you can’t find a memoirs group in your area, how hard would it be to start one? According to Cathy Fulton, it’s not difficult at all. She did it and then wrote a book about it: Facilitating a Lifewriting Group is Easy. Fulton found that weekly, two-hour meetings work best, with most of the time devoted to having the members read their stories and the rest asking questions or providing positive feedback. A discussion about a topic of choice and a 10-minute break fill up the remainder of the time.

If you join or form a memoir writing group, please email us to let us know! If you would ever want one of us to speak at your meeting, we would be happy to do that for nothing more than the reimbursement of travel costs from our Chicago location.

Video Lists Top Ten Rules of Writing

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Video Lists Top Ten Rules of Writing
This week’s WriteMyMemoirs blog post started out as a post to discuss the writing rules noted in a YouTube video called Top Ten Writing Rules From Famous Writers, which was posted last year by Lyra Communications. Instead, I’m on a rant! These are the ten rules listed:
10. Stephen King: Write a draft; then let it rest.
9. Stephen King: Read a lot.
8. George Orwell: Never use a long word when a short one will do.
7. George Orwell: Never use the passive voice when you can use the active voice.
6. Pierre Berton: Know your audience.
5. Pierre Berton: Recycle and read the good stuff before you write.
4. Andrew Morton: Honor the miraculousness of the ordinary.
3. Stephen King: Good copy = Draft minus 10%.
2. Bob Cooper: Look at every word in a sentence, decide if all are really needed and, if not, kill them; be ruthless.
1. Al Kennedy: Writing doesn’t love you; it doesn’t care. Nevertheless, it can behave with remarkable generosity. Speak well of it, encourage others, pass it on.
I suppose those ideas are worthy of discussion—although I’m not sure they’d be my top ten—but I’m finding that I’d rather critique the video itself than the rules. I have a lot of problems with this video. First, there seems to be a “famous writer” shortage. Wouldn’t you be more interested in ten rules from ten different writers? Here, only six writers supply all ten rules. I also question how well these writers meet the title’s definition of “famous.” King and Orwell are the only famous writers, and that Cooper guy was the narrator’s professor; I don’t think that credential qualifies him. Also, speaking of Cooper, I had to reword his writing tip to make it grammatically correct! For the #1 writing tip, which is really not a tip but a plea, the narrator refers to the author as a “he” when really the person actually is a woman. The communications lesson from this video is not what the company intended but, rather, to make sure your information is accurate and compelling before you post on YouTube.

This week’s WriteMyMemoirs blog post started out as a discussion of the writing rules noted in a YouTube video called Top Ten Writing Rules From Famous Writers, which was posted last year by Lyra Communications. Instead, I’m on a rant! These are the ten rules listed:

10. Stephen King: Write a draft; then let it rest.

9. Stephen King: Read a lot.

8. George Orwell: Never use a long word when a short one will do.

7. George Orwell: Never use the passive voice when you can use the active voice.

6. Pierre Berton: Know your audience.

5. Pierre Berton: Recycle and read the good stuff before you write.

4. Andrew Morton: Honor the miraculousness of the ordinary.

3. Stephen King: Good copy = Draft minus 10%.

2. Bob Cooper: Look at every word in a sentence, decide if all are really needed and, if not, kill them;  be ruthless.

1. Al Kennedy: Writing doesn’t love you; it doesn’t care. Nevertheless, it can behave with remarkable generosity. Speak well of it, encourage others, pass it on.

I suppose those ideas are worthy of discussion—although I’m not sure they’d be my top ten—but I’m finding that I’d rather critique the video itself than the rules. I have a lot of problems with this video. First, there seems to be a “famous writer” shortage. Wouldn’t you be more interested in ten rules from ten different authors? Here, only six writers supply all ten rules. I also question how well these writers meet the title’s definition of “famous.” King and Orwell are the only famous writers, and that Cooper guy was the narrator’s professor; I don’t think that credential qualifies him. Also, speaking of Cooper, I had to reword his writing tip to make it grammatically correct! For the #1 writing tip, which is really not a tip but a plea, the narrator refers to the author as a “he” when the person actually is a woman. The communications lesson from this video is not what the company intended but, rather, to make sure your information is accurate and compelling before you post on YouTube.

Yet More Tips on Getting Started on Your Writing

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Yet More Tips on Getting Started on Your Writing
When you sit down to start writing your memoir, that blank page sure does stare back harshly. Getting out that first paragraph—even that first sentence—trips up people to the point that some never return to the task. Don’t let that happen to you!
As a guest blogger on The Creative Penn, Eric Olsen, co-author of We Wanted To Be Writers, contributed his thoughts on how to get started writing a novel. He tells writers not to worry about writing your book from Page 1 right through to the end. You can start anywhere. In a way, your memoir is a type of nonfiction novel, and here at WriteMyMemoirs we frequently mention the same thing—just write something, even one anecdote, and then at least you’ve gotten started.
Olsen lists three ways of organizing your thoughts, and we’ll tweak them here to apply to a memoir:
1. Write scenes. Think of your life as a series of scenes, and start with the most important or, perhaps, the most vivid scenes from your life.
2. Write characters. Devote a chapter to your parents, siblings, spouse(s) and special friends. Explore what makes the person tick and how each one impacted your life.
3. Write dialogue. Like a novel, a memoir could be more interesting with some dialogue rather than all straight description. Instead of describing what happened in an interpersonal situation, let your “characters” speak for themselves. Try it!
You can always go back and piece together your work in whatever order you want—chronological or otherwise. Start writing!

When you sit down to start writing your memoir, that blank page sure does stare back harshly. Getting out that first paragraph—even that first sentence—trips up people to the point that some never return to the task. Don’t let that happen to you!

As a guest blogger on The Creative Penn, Eric Olsen, co-author of We Wanted To Be Writers, contributed his thoughts on how to get started writing a novel. He tells writers not to worry about writing your book from Page 1 right through to the end. You can start anywhere. In a way, your memoir is a type of nonfiction novel, and here at WriteMyMemoirs we frequently mention the same thing—just write something, even one anecdote, and then at least you’ve gotten started.

Olsen lists three ways of organizing your thoughts, and we’ll tweak them here to apply to a memoir:

  1. Write scenes. Think of your life as a series of scenes, and start with the most important or, perhaps, the most vivid scenes from your life.
  2. Write characters. Devote a chapter to your parents, siblings, spouse(s) and special friends. Explore what makes the person tick and how each one impacted your life.
  3. Write dialogue. Like a novel, a memoir could be more interesting with some dialogue rather than all straight description. Instead of describing what happened in an interpersonal situation, let your “characters” speak for themselves. Try it!

You can always go back and piece together your work in whatever order you want—chronological or otherwise. Start writing!

Add Yourself to the Bombeck/Ephron/Quindlen List of Women Essayists

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Memoir as a Collection of Essays
I was a big fan of Nora Ephron, who died last month after carving a niche for women writers who share witty observations of modern times. While the late Erma Bombeck did much the same but focused on homemaking, Ephron added the workplace. I first discovered Nora through her book of essays, Crazy Salad, and last year read her latest, I Remember Nothing, which was an actual book rather than a collection of essays. But the sum of her essays alone gave the reader a good picture of her life story.
The heir to the female essayist throne is Anna Quindlen who, like her predecessors, shares views about normal home and work life through the eyes of a woman. Quindlen’s latest entry, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, covers a pivotal moment in time of the author’s life as she leaves her 50s to enter her 60s. Her chapters cover the different categories of things that tend to evolve at that stage of life, like appearance, faith and confidence.
Many people who do not write professionally but would like to pen a memoir have a tough time organizing it and creating transitions between chapters. If that describes you, try structuring your autobiography as a collection of essays. Write just one essay about a time period, a person, a location or an idea that made an impact on your life. Then write another one. When you put these essays together, each can become a chapter of your book without the necessity of tying them together.
http://www.amazon.com/Lots-Candles-Plenty-Cake-Quindlen/dp/1400069343/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341935885&sr=1-1&keywords=quindlen+lots+of+candles

I was a big fan of Nora Ephron, who died last month after carving a niche for women writers who share witty observations of modern times. While the late Erma Bombeck did much the same but focused on homemaking, Ephron added the workplace. I first discovered Nora through her book of essays, Crazy Salad, and last year read her latest, I Remember Nothing, which was an actual book rather than a collection of essays. But the sum of her essays alone gave the reader a good picture of her life story.

The heir to the female essayist throne is Anna Quindlen who, like her predecessors, shares views about normal home and work life through the eyes of a woman. Quindlen’s latest entry, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, covers a pivotal moment in time of the author’s life as she leaves her 50s to enter her 60s. Her chapters cover the different categories of things that tend to evolve at that stage of life, like appearance, faith and confidence.

Many people who do not write professionally but would like to pen a memoir have a tough time organizing it and creating transitions between chapters. If that describes you, try structuring your autobiography as a collection of essays. Write just one essay about a time period, a person, a location or an idea that made an impact on your life. Then write another one. When you put these essays together, each can become a chapter of your book without the necessity of tying them together.

Get Your Customized Memoir Publishing Here!

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Get Your Customized Memoir Publishing Here!
Memoirs are like snowflakes! The longer we’re in the memoirs business, the more we see that no two memoirs are exactly alike. Every author approaches an autobiography a little differently. Variations include the organization, number of photographs and length of chapters. Still, when we publish memoirs, we see many similarities as well, such as:
1. The writing is generally very good. People who want to see their work in an actual book tend to have someone who’s skilled at language read it over first for grammatical errors. This is a great idea!
2. Early life, marriage/family, work, military service and retirement tend to be typical chapters, which is why we suggest those categories in our online structure.
3. Most people include at least a few photographs. Visuals help the author to remember details, and they help the reader to picture the people and action described.
4. The memoirs convey a sense of satisfaction. Our memoir writers tend to be pleased with their lives. In many ways their lives are ordinary, but the authors feel happy to have lived them.
Then there’s the more detailed work involved in publishing, such as the font, the placement of photographs and the cover layout. Sometimes the author has a clear vision, while other times we help our authors with those types of decisions. At WriteMyMemoirs, we enjoy working with authors to get their life stories into print. Although our standard soft-cover book suits most tastes, we can create any book you want.

Memoirs are like snowflakes! The longer we’re in the memoirs business, the more we see that no two memoirs are exactly alike. Every author approaches an autobiography a little differently. Variations include the organization, number of photographs and length of chapters. Still, when we publish memoirs, we see many similarities as well, such as:

  1. The writing is generally very good. People who want to see their work in an actual book tend to have someone who’s skilled at language read it over first for grammatical errors. This is a great idea!
  2. Early life, marriage/family, work, military service and retirement tend to be typical chapters, which is why we suggest those categories in our online structure.
  3. Most people include at least a few photographs. Visuals help the author to remember details, and they help the reader to picture the people and action described.
  4. The memoirs convey a sense of satisfaction. Our memoir writers tend to be pleased with their lives. In many ways their lives are ordinary, but the authors feel happy to have lived them.

Then there’s the more detailed work involved in publishing, such as the font, the placement of photographs and the cover layout. Sometimes the author has a clear vision, while other times we help our authors with those types of decisions. At WriteMyMemoirs, we enjoy working with authors to get their life stories into print. Although our standard soft-cover book suits most tastes, we can create any book you want.

eHow Memoir Writing Tips, Part 4

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eHow Memoir Writing Tips, Part 4
This is the last post in our series on eHow.com’s “mini autobiography” suggestions.
7. Conclude by writing about how you see the world and what you have learned from life and those in your world so far. Discuss your goals, dreams and hopes for yourself and your family.
WriteMyMemoirs commentary: While this is a valuable suggestion, I wouldn’t call it a “must do.” Not everyone wants to use a memoir to philosophize. If you’ve fully told your story as you went along, including your feelings and point of view, you may not feel it’s necessary to cull your impressions into a chapter on “what you have learned from life.” As to this tip’s second suggestion, I think it can be risky. For example, if you put into writing your hopes and dreams for your grandchildren, you could regret it later if your goals for them turn out to be out of touch with their goals for themselves. It’s not that I believe that tip #7 is inappropriate—not at all. It could make an interesting concluding chapter. I just don’t think you should feel that your work is not complete work if you choose to forego this idea.
8. Include photos and captions in your mini autobiography. Start with your childhood and include photos of your friends and family members as well.
WriteMyMemoirs commentary: This is good advice. Visuals always serve a purpose in a memoir. Anyone reading your life story will be interested to see what you and the people in your life looked like when all of you were younger. I would just caution you that, if you publish your work, even online, make sure to get permission of living people to show their image.
And that ends our look at these 8 tips. It’s been fun!

This is the last post in our series on eHow.com’s “mini autobiography” suggestions.

7. Conclude by writing about how you see the world and what you have learned from life and those in your world so far. Discuss your goals, dreams and hopes for yourself and your family.

WriteMyMemoirs commentary: While this is a valuable suggestion, I wouldn’t call it a “must do.” Not everyone wants to use a memoir to philosophize. If you’ve fully told your story as you went along, including your feelings and point of view, you may not feel it’s necessary to cull your impressions into a chapter on “what I have learned from life.” As to this tip’s second suggestion, I think it can be risky. For example, if you put into writing your hopes and dreams for your grandchildren, you could regret it later if your goals for them turn out to be out of touch with their goals for themselves. It’s not that I believe that tip #7 is inappropriate—not at all. It could make an interesting concluding chapter. I just don’t think you should feel that your work is not complete work if you choose to forego this idea.

8. Include photos and captions in your mini autobiography. Start with your childhood and include photos of your friends and family members as well.

WriteMyMemoirs commentary: This is good advice. Visuals always serve a purpose in a memoir. Anyone reading your life story will be interested to see what you and the people in your life looked like when all of you were younger. I would just caution you that, if you publish your work, even online, make sure to get permission of living people to show their image.

And that ends our look at these 8 tips. Now go back to writing your memoir!

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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!

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