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memoir

Memoir vs. Autobiography

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Memoir vs. Autobiography
The other day someone asked me to define the difference between memoir and autobiography. Here at Write My Memoirs, we use the terms interchangeably, so I had to do a little research to learn whether we’re in accordance with general usage. While I think that most people do consider the terms to be more or less synonymous, some writers and publishers make a distinction.
The best explanation of memoir vs. autobiography I found was by Laura Tretter, director of the San Juan Island Public Library. First, I needed to figure out where San Juan Island was. Did you know that it’s nowhere near San Juan, Puerto Rico? Nope, it’s part of Washington state—far north, near British Columbia, Canada. So I learned something there.
When Ms. Tretter researched the use of these two similar words, she discovered that, primarily, people who distinguish memoir from autobiography consider the former to be an account of any part of the author’s life, delivered in any order, while the latter relates all of the notable events of the author’s life, typically in chronological order. So if you’re writing only about your service in World War II or your days as a Broadway dancer, you’re crafting a memoir. If you’re starting with your birth and providing your life’s details leading to present day, you’re writing an autobiography. At Write My Memoirs, we invite you to author either one!

The other day someone asked me to define the difference between memoir and autobiography. Here at Write My Memoirs, we use the terms interchangeably, so I had to do a little research to learn whether we’re in accordance with general usage. While I think that most people do consider the terms to be more or less synonymous, some writers and publishers make a distinction.

The best explanation of memoir vs. autobiography I found was by Laura Tretter, director of the San Juan Island Public Library. First, I needed to figure out where San Juan Island was. Did you know that it’s nowhere near San Juan, Puerto Rico? Nope, it’s part of Washington state—far north, near British Columbia, Canada. So I learned something there.

When Ms. Tretter researched the use of these two similar words, she discovered that, primarily, people who distinguish memoir from autobiography consider the former to be an account of any part of the author’s life, delivered in any order, while the latter relates all of the notable events of the author’s life, typically in chronological order. So if you’re writing only about your service in World War II or your days as a Broadway dancer, you’re crafting a memoir. If you’re starting with your birth and providing your life’s details leading to present day, you’re writing an autobiography. At Write My Memoirs, we invite you to author either one!

Hey, Charlie Sheen, Write a Memoir!

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To Charlie Sheen: Write a Memoir!
Say what you want about him, but clearly Mr. Charlie Sheen has an audience. I was shocked when his upcoming one-man show, “My Violent Torpedo of Truth,??? sold out here in Chicago within 15 minutes. Like many of us, Charlie wants to tell his own story from his point of view—and make a little money from it. What Charlie should do is write a memoir.
You own your story in the same way. Perhaps one day your children will write their memoirs and feature you fairly prominently. Maybe your former spouse, business associate, employee or friend will pen an autobiography with a chapter devoted to his or her relationship with you. Then suddenly you become Martin Sheen (Charlie’s dad) or Chuck Lorre (Charlie’s boss)—your reputation is in the hands of someone seeking to expose a “torpedo of truth??? about you. When you have your own memoir out there, that’s all the ammunition you need to have your side of the story heard as well.
I certainly hope you do not have the level of conflict and drama in your life that Charlie Sheen has in his. But if you ask five people to describe any situation, you’re likely to get five different perspectives and, often, a pile of contradictory “facts.??? So while many people look at this Sheen Show as a train wreck or a circus, I consider it a lesson: make sure that your voice is heard. Put your life story in writing.

Say what you want about him, but clearly Mr. Charlie Sheen has an audience. I was shocked when his upcoming one-man show, “My Violent Torpedo of Truth,??? sold out here in Chicago within 15 minutes. Like many of us, Charlie wants to tell his own story from his point of view—and make a little money from it. What Charlie should do is write a memoir.

You own your story in the same way. Perhaps one day your children will write their memoirs and feature you fairly prominently. Maybe your former spouse, business associate, employee or friend will pen an autobiography with a chapter devoted to his or her relationship with you. Then suddenly you become Martin Sheen (Charlie’s dad) or Chuck Lorre (Charlie’s boss)—your reputation is in the hands of someone seeking to expose a “torpedo of truth??? about you. When you have your own memoir out there, that’s all the ammunition you need to make sure that your side of the story receives equal play.

I certainly hope you do not have the level of conflict and drama in your life that Charlie Sheen has in his. But if you ask five people to describe any situation, you’re likely to get five different perspectives and, often, a pile of contradictory “facts.??? So while many people look at this Sheen Show as a train wreck or a circus, I consider it a lesson: make sure that your voice is heard. Put your life story in writing.

Never Too Early to Start on Your Memoirs

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blog9At 17, Olympic gymnast and “Dancing With the Stars??? champ Shawn Johnson announced that she’s considering writing a sequel to her 2008 photo memoir. If you haven’t had quite the blue-ribbon-packed life that Shawn has, you probably aren’t thinking about publishing your life story once, much less twice, while still in your teens. But you might not want to wait until your golden years, either.

For some people, a memoir is the natural extension of the baby book they’ve been keeping after the birth of their children. They’ve gotten accustomed to documenting the little events that occur, the triumphs and the disappointments, and when baby outgrows the baby book they simply either continue to keep a record for the child or transfer the energy to their own journaling. If not a birth, perhaps a graduation, new career, marriage, illness, death of a loved one, move to a new city or major birthday is what triggers the desire to get the facts down or express your impressions and emotions.

I think starting early is a great idea. First of all, the memory is so unreliable! Time robs us of the details that bring texture to daily life, and sometimes we even forget the who/what/where/when essentials. Second, starting early keeps us from being overwhelmed when faced with an entire lifetime to recapture. And the process of memoir writing is so rewarding that once they get going, a lot of people wish they’d given themselves the gift of reflection sooner. No time like the present!

A Proper Memoir: Fact or Opinion?

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blog3When I was in the grocery store the other day I noticed an older man involved in a spirited political discussion—with the fruit-stacking guy! Maybe this man was a regular at the store, and the pair had gotten to know each other pretty well over the years. Still, the employee, after all, had fruit to stack, and perhaps the shopper would enjoy not only a wider audience but a structured outlet for expressing himself. Instead of cornering the fruit clerk, I thought: this guy should write a memoir!

Before that happened, I considered a memoir or an autobiography to be a collection of facts—with feeling, yes, but not so much a walk through the person’s politics. But I saw the passion of this man’s discourse and the sincerity in his face as he waved his arms around explaining his views. I realized that, to many people, their politics are as much a part of their life story as the dates of their big events.

If you’re a politically minded person, you might want to devote a chapter just to your opinions. Or maybe you’ll freely sprinkle those views throughout your autobiography. I think it gives readers (even those it might offend!) a real sense of who you are—-which is kind of important in a memoir! So maybe a memoir can be both fact and opinion. Check back next time, when I’ll report on one famous figure who will soon release this type of autobiography.

Photo: ©Serghei Starus

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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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