A memoir is a story about you. The memoir is not your entire life story, but an illumination of some corner of your life that can act as a reflection on who you were and who you are now. While other people will populate the your personal individual story, you are the focus of that story and your memoir should never lose site of the importance of that story.
You are unique in many ways and your story needs to extract the unique qualities to put them in the forefront of the reader's mind. At the same time you as memoirist need to find that common bond that helps the reader better identify with your life and you as another citizen of history.
When looking at your life as the topic of a memoir, also look at other lives to see what you have in common with them as well as how your life is different. The story of you should be unique, but not so unfathomable to others that they cannot clearly understand the experiences you've been through. The goal of the memoir writer is to draw readers into the life experience and not leave them scratching their heads and walking away in disinterest.
You need to be you, but you also need to be at least a little bit of us.
Have you ever encountered a story in which there was absolutely nothing to which you could relate and perhaps even stopped reading because of that? What are some things that you as a memoir writer might focus on to connect with your readers? Would you prefer reading stories about people who are completely unlike you in every way?
I guess it'd depend on how unlike me they are for me to judge if their books are 'for me' or not. I know that I myself have lived a pretty unique life. Sometimes I lament that I didn't do near as much traveling as I wanted, but then when I think about how much I have accomplished, it's more than many have done/seen too.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow just happens to be memoir day of my themed challenge.
ReplyDeleteFalling on Z was a tough one but I eventually found something.
Thanks for all of the memoir tips during this challenge
I love reading memoirs, autobiographies, and biographies....(hey, are memoirs and autobiographies the same thing?...seems to me that they are, but it occurred to me that maybe there is some difference that I'm unaware of)...usually the people are nothing like me, but sometimes there are similarities. I just love to find out how other people spent their time here on earth...or how they're spending it...it fascinates me.
ReplyDeleteI probably wouldn't read a memoir of someone completely unlike me. But the only people I'm thinking would fit that description would be blood thirsty killers. Usually I find some part I can recognize in other people's life stories because even if the setting is different and the details are different, there are feelings that touch my own feelings.
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