Write Now  Brainstorm 3-4 storylines you may use for your personal memoir.  A pivotal moment in your life  An important person, and an event surrounding him/her (one day, or a small glimpse)  An important place, and some event that made that place significant  Other things to think about:  What’s something you can’t deny?  What or who did you leave behind?  What’s something you did that you no longer understand?  What are you sorry you never did?  What physical characteristic are you proud to pass on?  When did you unexpectedly feel compassion?  What do you have too much of?  When did you know you were in trouble?

How to Write Your Memoir “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” -Ernest Hemingway

Some tips  Write with a critical eye on yourself.  It draws in the reader to trust you  Personal writing should seem honest.  Narrow it down. Don’t cover too much ground. Choose a single event, or a single moment.  This drills home a larger, more powerful message.

Step One  Find the desire line  What did you (as the narrator/protagonist) want in the story you’re telling?  I wanted to be at the movies.  I wanted to love my stepmom.  I wanted to make a new life after the death of my wife.  I wanted to be a model.  Keep in mind the desire line may change by the end of the memoir.  The desire line needs to be about YOU.  I wanted to keep my mother safe  I wanted to be a good daughter.

Step Two  Insert Actions and Obstacles  Now, lay out the events of the memoir.  I wanted _________________ (the desire line).  To get it, I ___________________ (action).  To get it, I then __________________ (action).  But _____________ (obstacle) got in the way.  So, I _____________________ (action).

Step Three  Surround your events with hints of emotion – shown, not told.  “She kicked open the screen door, letting it slam against the wall as she dashed outside. Down the steps and into the yard she flew. Grabbing the first rock in her path, she hurled it back toward the house. It crashed though the living room window with an explosion of shattered glass.” -Marion Dane Bauer  “But the last time she went upstairs was weeks ago. Now she is on the couch, not moving from the couch, reclining on the couch during the day and sleeping there at night, in her nightgown, with the TV on until dawn, a comforter over her, toe to neck. People know.” -David Eggers

Begin in an interesting way!  Fifty-three missed calls. I looked at my phone for the first time in two weeks…  The Day I Returned  She has cancer. It’s weird to write that down…  She Has Cancer  My knees shook inside my favorite pair of “skinny jeans”…  Friends with Benefits: Prom-Style  “Now you say when” is what he always said before an arm-wrestling match…  Arm-Wrestling with my Father  March 5, 1973, Daly City, California-I’m late. I’ve got to finish the dishes on time, otherwise no breakfast…  A Child Called “It”

Remember effective techniques  Repetition  Suspense built through hinting  Use dialogue… but not too much of it!  Look back at things you liked from previous memoirs.

Some ideas…  What’s something you can’t deny?  What or who did you leave behind?  What’s something you did that you no longer understand?  What are you sorry you never did?  What physical characteristic are you proud to pass on?  When did you unexpectedly feel compassion?  What do you have too much of?  When did you know you were in trouble?