Memoirs

I'm writing a fictionalized memoir based on actual events from my four years in the US Army Infantry in the mid to late '90s. I'm even toying with the idea of setting the whole thing in a futuristic/scifi environment. Anyway, the approach has been that of the essayist: I write out the scene, thoughts, feelings, impressions as they happened or as I remember them. Not everything that happened to me was interesting, so I have appropriated the experiences of my fellow soldiers and made them my own, hence the fictionalization. Incidentally, that is the theme of the first short story piece (did I not mention that it is a series of interrelated vignettes in the style of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried) how the stories of individual soldiers are actually a part of the greater story of the "collective soldier."

I highly recommend reading Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir by William Zinsser. It will be a great help to you.

Jaek

----------

Write. Now.

The worksheets and "how to write memoirs" section of this site might be useful to you. The site is geared toward older folk who don't know much about technology, I think, but I find the information a good summary (though some is not quite accurate, so take it with a grain of salt), and the worksheets are a good way to bang out an idea!

I find it's hard to stick to a "plot summary" for memoir since what your brain thinks is "the story" and what actually comes out are two different things. There *is* suspense in memoir writing and reading - the suspense of "what does this mean to me now?", which is the unpredictable element in the writing of it (like how fiction writers will gripe about their characters having their own ideas about where to go with the story - this is similar!). Having said that, memoir means taking a theme and focusing on that one story (rather than an autobiography about your life from birth to present). So first, choose a theme. Then think about the events/defining moments that would propel that theme or story forward. Choose which scenes (ex. dialogue) you will need to focus in on and examine in detail, and other areas you will want to summarize.

Think about what this theme and these experiences mean to you - what have you learned, why are you writing this? That is the underlying story in any memoir, and what propels us to write and read memoir -- the common elements of human experience, the specificity of your story that taps into general human themes that then tap into the readers' own specific experience.

Good luck!

----------

2006 - 100k
2007 - 60k
2008 - 68k

I plan on going for the memoir, though I'm not 100% sure I'd call it that. I've spent a year here in China on an exchange and am going to compile stories, history, travel information, culture, just about everything I've learned in the year plus some filler info. Memoir is the only word that really fits, and I'm not happy with that title.

I only just today bit the bullet and signed up to this to make it happen, so it's not beyond the idea phase yet, but I'll keep you updated. Us rebels have to stick together, eh?

----------

Unsanctioned Maritime Wealth Redistribution Officer
Also known as Vercingetorix

Whowhooo! been waiting for fellow rebels for a few years now! I won Nano in 2004 by ever-so-slightly fictionalizing events in my own life and combining them with future predictions - a "what if" scenario I presented myself. It worked, though I'd never try to publish it because for the few gems in it, it's got a lot of garbage writing as well (like the day our fish died- I basically journaled it and copied it into my nano! )

This year I'm actually challenging myself to combine daily journaling and adding memoir prompt answers when I don't get enough journaling for word count.

I'm thrilled there are others out there that love NaNoWrimo theoretically but really want to motivate themselves to add quantity to their memoir writing!

NJHeart2Heart

----------

NJHeart2Heart Dawn
REBEL WITH A CLAUSE

Thanks for the book tip, Jaek! I've put it on hold in the library. Your story idea sounds intriguing.

writerwithoutborders, thanks for that site, I hadn't heard of it before. It looks promising. I do have a theme (I'm going to write about how I went crazy and what happened after), but I recognize that I need to work on my focus some more. At the moment everything's still very jumbled up. I have my mind map but it goes in a hundred directions and certainly all substories aren't equal in importance.

AKBK, definitely keep us updated. It sounds like you have a basis for a great book.

I'm having trouble deciding how to begin the story. I've tried writing things in order previously and that didn't work out too well. I think I need to read some more memoirs before NaNo and see how others have done it.

----------

Proud to be a NaNo rebel

2007: Fail
2008: Fail
2009: well, third time's the charm, right?

A hint for how to start: start with an anecdote, an experience that illustrates your theme and draws the reader in.

My first NaNo I started out chronologically, but in editing I took the climactic incident and put it at the beginning; then I went back to fill in the spaces.

----------

2006 - 100k
2007 - 60k
2008 - 68k

Ooooo, me too! I'm in Nanjing. I'm here with two small children, so our stories will be about as different as L.A. and Siem Reap.

I have two memoirs already published, but the China book will be a totally different genre, so I need a new publisher.

My first two books were niche (memoir, horses) and I come from a marketing background, so it was actually quite easy to find a publisher. The books were both moderately successful (the reviews are outstanding, but the marketing is only so-so, and I ended up unexpectedly in China, so I wasn't around to do a book tour, etc). I think the key to publication is knowing your audience and providing a publisher with a great rationale for your story.

As others have mentioned, there is no reason to start chronologically. For both of my books, I started by writing stories. I ended up with five or six great "chapters," with no idea of starting, middle, ending or, frankly, plot. But once I had 10,000-15,000 words down, the story started to form itself.

Interestingly enough, for both books, I had a contract to write them and a due date, but no "conclusion." I committed to write the books without having any idea of how they were going to end. Mostly because, in both cases, they were chronicling my real life, and I hadn't lived that bit yet. There were some hairy moments, particularly toward the due date. ;-)

I'm in that sort of boat right now: I've lived more than two years in China, and I know there is a great story in it. We have a year left to go, so there's no "conclusion." But, I need to start writing! The conclusion will have to work itself out as we get closer to it.

The big difference with this book is that right now I don't have a publisher. I am planning to get my 50k words down first, then start that process. So, I've cut myself a little slack this go round. ;-)

RenyardRidge, you aren't Jeannette Walls, are you? :P

Going to write the story of my parents. So glad that there are other memoirists here!

Not entirely sure if I'm going to write a memoir or a novel based on those experiences. Have some concerns about the people involved and their reactions if I wrote it as a straight memoir. Guess I'm thinking if it is fictionalized, they always have deniability. ("No, that part didn't really happen").

Any thoughts?

I really have no idea at all how to go about publication. I was kinda planning on just getting the thing done, then probably googling publication companies and doing some research to see who fit the bill. I'd love to get published with this, so if you have any advice on how your last two were, and specifically if you get the process on this one started, I'd love to hear your input. I'm definitely doing this to challenge myself and to have a record of my time here, even if it never gets published, but it would be a thrill to get it out there.

Oh, and if anybody is curious, I have a working title and synopsis up in my bio. I have an idea of the chapters and themes, still have 10 more days to outline and prepare. I think that I have more than enough to say to meet the word requirement, the problem is just turning it into a cohesive book instead of my rambling, and that's where these days before November come into play.

----------

Unsanctioned Maritime Wealth Redistribution Officer
Also known as Vercingetorix

In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamont says that you cannot consider the feelings of your subjects when writing memoirs. It sounds harsh, I know. But if you start to shape your story around people whose feelings might be hurt, you'll lose the story itself, which is your perception more than anything else.

Nope.

Agreed. And, besides, this is your rough draft - it's not even your first draft! This is the draft you write for *you*; once you start editing, you can take out, re-word, fictionalize, and whatever else you decide to do for whatever reason. But in the rough draft there's no reason to fictionalize - at least for deniability reasons. No one is going to read this draft, unless you share it with them, which you're not.

You *may* want to change things here and there (i.e. fictionalize) if some parts are too stressful for you to write and changing things will give you some emotional distance. So there are reasons to change things, but plausible deniability is not one of them - at least at this stage. And then again, a novel would allow you to follow the rules of NaNo, if that's important to you. Good luck!

----------

2006 - 100k
2007 - 60k
2008 - 68k

hi guys, i LOVE this thread! last year i blended some memoir writing with some old journal entries from the mid-1970's and popped in some "what if" scenarios. that was a lot of fun!

good luck to all of you, and i look forward to checking back in here to see how everyone is doing.

thanks ;)

----------

moz

"it ain't over till the fat lady sings"
-----------------
2009: Eire
2008: That Summer (win)
2007: Recipe for Happiness
2006: One Summer
2005: untitled

Hi. I have an MFA in creative writing, and I wrote a memoir for my thesis. I'm going to write another. Here are a few of my thoughts:

First of all, there are NO RULES. Disregard everything I say.

Secondly, you don't have to include EVERYTHING. I left out the guy I dated 17 years! He had recently died, and to write about him would have been "too close" to raw emotion, so I left him out of the story. Pick and choose what you want to write about.

You don't have to be totally accurate. You must be true, however. You don't have to quote conversations exactly. Memory isn't accurate. No one's is.

Use your journals. It was scary for me to read old journals, but worth the effort.

Consider changing names of characters and/or places.

You don't have to begin the story at the beginning, and you don't have to end the story at the ending.

Don't write your life story.

It doesn't have to end happily.

Do use an outline.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Good luck.

Julie

----------

http://juliemadblogger.wordpress.com

I've been studying memoir for a good year now, and the most helpful thing I've found is that you're going to want to cram it all into one space, and you don't need to. Focus on one idea, one aspect of you, and emphasize it. The other things can be lurking, but make sure they don't take over. (It's like a Foe-Glass, from Harry Potter; the thing you're writing about should be reflected in the mirror, and the rest just shadowy figures.)

Reach from as many sources as possible outside of yourself. Get information from family, friends, commentary from other folks you know about you or whatever you're writing about. Consult other authors who've written about the same topic. Look into psychology, archaeology, botany...whatever you can think of that could have the faintest link, and see if you can work it in. 50,000 words of a journal is hard to pull off, unless you're a girl living in an attic waiting for the Nazis. I know; I've been doing the opposites of everything I'm typing right now for a whole year, to subpar results.

Good luck, fellow memoirists. :)

I've decided to write a memoir but the only problem I'm having is there is no end...yet. I'm pretty sure i'll have my 50k by the end of the month but no actual ending. So either I leave it unfinished or make an ending up.

Emma, I will have the same dilemma - I'm solving it by having a few future predictions at the end. Mind you, I'm writing my memoir as a comedy and plan to treat it as fiction, so it makes perfect sense for me to do that. haha.

----------

Hi! Found your post when googling nanowrimo memoirs. I am also going to bend the rules this year and write my memoirs. Nice to know someone else is doing that too! Not sure how to do this and turn it into a story but I'll fumble my way through. Good luck with your memoirs!

G'day all.

I am interested to read the comments on memoirs. I completed Nano last year with a fictitious novel, which I aboslutely love (even if I say so myself!).

This year I am trying something different. Over the past 6 months or so my wife has undergone a battle with breast cancer, and I have been keeping a type of journal about it all, which I intend to put together as this years novel.

Although not strictly a memoir, it will be a memoir of a certian period of my life, and the impact it has had on my family and our wider circle of friends and support network.

I am confident I can get the 50,000 wds, as I am intending to go back a bit before that and paint a picture of how life was before this all hit.

My only dilemma is this - I am unsure whether to write it in the first person from my perspective as a husband, or transform it slightly and write it as a 'fictitious' novel, applying our experiences on to a fictitious set of characters, thus making it more of a traditonal 'novel' rather than a memoir or journal set-up.

Any thoughts?

I'm excited to see other memoirists here. I'm using NaNo to kick off my first real venture into book-length memoir (I've been writing fiction and freelancing for lotsa years).

I've been toying with this particular memoir since January and was afraid I'd get this close to November and come up with some excuse not to write, so I took my usual pantser-self and made myself a pseudo-plotter. What I did with my story idea (a small-town-turned-city-girl's life through the lens of food and recipes) was buy myself a spiral notebook of index cards and on each card, wrote a sentence or two idea for one single essay idea. At this point I have over 60 of these babies.

What I'm doing tonight and tomorrow is listing them on chart paper by their topic/potential title. I'm hanging the charts around my writing room so there's no escape from the energy (ha!) and no good reason for me not to have something to write about. I do my writing at 4:30 am, so I can just come in, either start up with the essay I worked on before or pick a new one that suits my fancy, and cross them off as I finish.

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. Let's just hope it continues!....

This is so cool ! I was planning to not do nanowrimo this year because I figured writing memoir was cheating, but memoir is where my mind and imagination kept going. I had no interest in writing a novel this year -- heck, I'm still trying to revise that beast of a first draft I wrote last year. I googled national memoir writing month to see if there was something out there -- I did nanowrimo in 2007 and 2008 and loved it -- and your post came up. I'm in !

wallbanger; Just as a warning, my opinions aren't based on having written any memoirs (yet), nor read very many. This is just personal opinions and my ideas of what any writing should look like.

I'm divided on this one as well, I wouldn't know how to write it. Writing first person, I think, has the most potential to focus the emotions of this battle, and a story like this has to be deeply emotional. Plus, first person is how you experienced it, it would be a sight easier to write.

However, though third person writing may not focus and describe the emotions as well, it would bring your readers into that emotion better. It's easier to connect with somebody when we see them from our perspective rather than their own, makes us feel more a part of what is going on.

So my suggestion is first to think about what you want this to be. Is it for you, for your family and friends, for publication? The wider the audience, the more likely I'd shift to third person.

If you're still undecided (and even if I knew my audience I wouldn't be either), try writing several of the most emotional moments in both forms, first and third person. Read them over, get a few reviews from friends or from the forums here, just get an idea of how each one reads. Make your decision on how to write the rest of the memoir based on reactions to those. Or maybe you'll find, when writing the third person, that you can't separate yourself from the story, and you'll write first. Or maybe you'll find the opposite and can't write first person because you need some separation to make it work.

Good luck, keep us updated! And if you do choose to write a few sample bits in first and third, I'd be happy to give you a review.

----------

Unsanctioned Maritime Wealth Redistribution Officer
Also known as Vercingetorix

AKBK, thanks for your input!

You bring up a lot of interesting and valid points, and much of what you say is what I have been grappling with since deciding to do my novel of this topic!!

I was initially leaning towards the third person, partly I think because there was a little bit of me that thought I wouldn't be doing Nano properly if I decided on a completely non-fiction novel. However, after much thought on that topic I realise that is just rubbish - Nano is all about writing, being creative and getting things down on the page. There is just as much creativity needed to bring a non-fiction story to life as there is a fiction one I believe - maybe more in fact!!

Anyway I will certainly keep the forum posted on what I decide and how it all goes.

Thanks again, and good luck - only 3 days to go!

This year I'm journaling my NaNo, but the more I read the memoir boards the more I'm thinking about doing a proper memoir sometime in the near future.

Mine would be unfortunately about how peer pressure, body image issues, and being molested resulted in social and sexual deviancy as a teenager. But on the hopeful side it would also chronicle how I managed to help myself out of it and am working to help others out of similar situations.

Most definitely written(perhaps published) under a penname.

I have a few years worth of Journals and blog posts to go through and pick out the aftermath from the unpleasant events, even if I did not write the events themselves down until a little over six years after they happened.

My life has taken such a dramatic turn the last few years and journaling has been a form of therapy for me. I feel like I need to "do something" with what I have learned from my experiences, because many, many people are sufferring in silence and perhaps my story would inspire them to change as well. I am not a writer. Even if it were not published, I know it would not be written in vain, but I would like to know, do most writers write with the expectation that their work is to (hopefully) published? Or is it like a hobby, in that they are creating art for their own personal enjoyment or the enjoyment of a select few? I was so inspired by Isabel Gilles' "Happens Every Day", her story of divorce, such a common occurrance in our society, yet her memoir was riviting. And she isn't even a writer! It got me thinking that everyone has a story to tell, that every life is fascinating, no matter how mundane it appears on the outside.

I don't know about others, but as for myself, I tend to not write for publication. I write because I want to write. This time I'm writing because I have a story that needs telling (though not necessarily reading). I hope that writing will give me a new perspective to things, a new understanding. I also want to write this story because it's all tangled up in my mind and all over the place. I want to give it some structure so I can see it more clearly. I'm hoping that the story has a point and that writing will help me understand why certain things happened the way they did.

----------

Proud to be a NaNo rebel

2007: Fail
2008: Fail
2009: well, third time's the charm, right?

I'm also writing a memoir of sorts. I had a couple of ideas for fiction, but they didn't really get me excited. At the same time I've been writing down memories and reading old diaries. Suddenly the idea of writing a memoir seems less silly and pompous than before.

Most people wai until their memory is failing to write their memoirs.
I'm writing mine before having done very much.

Bluelotus.

In answer to your query, I would think most people on here write because they love it and/or to get someting out that they need to have told - but deep down, there is always that wish or hope that maybe luck woould enable what is written to be published. That is certainly the case with me.

I think the memoir side of things is probably more for your own benefit and for a select audience (i.e. family and friends) but having said that, as you well know plenty of memoirs make great reading and sell millions.

My theory is write it how you want to and do with it what you wish - in the end, to get it all down on paper is an achivement in itself, and something you should be very proud of.

At let me say, if you haven't finished Nano before and experienced the thrill of getting that bound, professionl-looking copy of your novel vie the Createspace deal, then you certainly have something to look forward to!! It is brilliant.

Good luck!