Truth or Drama Stranger than Fiction Your Personal Journey in Life
There are differences between a memoir and an autobiography, although the two are often used interchangeably now with memoir the method of choice. Technically, an autobiography is a chronological account of the writer’s entire life—a personal history. A memoir, however, is about a particular aspect of a person’s life. An autobiographer researches facts and dates about a person and conducts interviews with people who knew that person. A memoir is less fact-oriented and more about how a person remembers an interesting time in his or her life. Autobiographies are often written about celebrities, pop stars, icons, and can be written by the actual person or a ghost writer controlling the story. The story of someone’s life written by another is a biography. When determining whether you want to write an autobiography or a memoir, think about what is most important to you: facts or sentiment, truth or passion and drama.
Many community schools or centers offer classes in writing an autobiography or memoir. For additional inspiration, join a book club, attend book festivals and literary readings and join a genealogical society.
Autobiography
As people organize a photograph album or write a family history, they often wish to expand their own life story for their descendants. Your life story is especially welcome when younger generations don’t remember the faces in the photo albums anymore. Begin with birth and family. Where were you born and were there any special circumstances? What were your family traditions? How did your family celebrate holidays? What were your school days like? Where did you go to school and why? Did you go to vocational school or college after high school—why or why not? Did you marry? Have children? Your life is unfolding in front of you. Write more than you will use. It’s always easier to delete information when you have a great deal from which to choose than write more.
Memoir
A memoir is one snapshot of your life—make it an interesting one. You might be thinking that you’ve led such a boring life that no one would want to read about it. But everyone tries to make sense of their life as they progress through it, so you will have an audience in common. Take them on your journey. When you put your life on paper, you get to think about it. And it is only one story, not an entire book, so it is an easier place to start.
Begin with an event in your life: a fantastic trip that changed your life; a divorce or death and how you dealt with it; winning the lottery; graduating from college; your big promotion—or the promotion you didn’t get. As you begin writing, different stories will come to mind. Pick the most interesting ones. Just relax and put yourself in the scene: describe it with your eyes, your ears, your nose, and your fingertips. Don’t edit your work. Just write freely. Have a family member or friend read it for feedback. Increase the intensity and conflict about the episode in your memoir.
Take the readers on your journey. Keep building excitement into your story so your readers will want to turn every page and not put it down until they finish.
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