Have you been mulling over ideas about writing life stories—stories about your life or your family, but just can’t seem to get going? Or, have you started writing, but find yourself stuck by a seemingly intractable obstacle? Need to know what to do next?
Send me your questions.
- Perhaps you’ve run out of ideas about what to write.
- Or you’re stumped by the different between family history and genealogy.
- You might need tips on the best way(s) to start or continue with your writing project.
- Maybe you want to know where to find the best memoir prompts.
- You might even have finished writing your draft but need to know about editing and revising, or how to put it all together.
- You could want to know some of the best memoirs or family stories to read for inspiration.
Tell me what you want to know.
Submit your questions as a comment (below) and I’ll provide helpful answers in future blog posts to get you back on track.
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If I read a memoir that I really enjoy, should I try to copy that writing style for my own?
If the style will fit your particular story, you can use it as a model. For example, if the author tells her story chronologically and that method seems appropriate for your story, by all means do that. Perhaps the author goes back and forth in time and you liked that and didn’t have trouble following it, you can do that. Maybe I should post the titles of some memoirs I really liked and explain aspects of them that others might want to try in their own memoirs. I think I’ll do that.
Thanks for your excellent questions!
It would be great to see a list of the memoirs you like and the writing style that author used. I’m sure it will be very helpful.
Good idea, Terry. I’ll post them. Thanks!
How long does the average memoir take to write?
It depends, Terry. I’d say at least 2 years. Two grueling years. :)
One of the things I’ve grappled with is how to change details about people to keep them from being identified while still staying true to the events that have happened (locations; names) and if it seems unlikely to be able to keep people from being identified (I only have one set of parents, for example) how much do you seek permission when writing about someone vs seeking forgiveness and understanding after the fact. Do you have advice on this front?
Something I struggle with is knowing when to ask for feedback on my writing (or more honestly, being willing to show others something that I don’t feel is already in a pretty good place and near “complete”) and also who to ask to read it. Is it better to ask someone to read writing when it is still in pretty rough draft form to get feedback and insight early? And is it more likely to be helpful to ask someone with a more objective viewpoint rather than those who are in the story?
I hope this answer is helpful to you, Nicole. Keep your eyes open for more info to help with the delicate areas of memoir and family history writing here.
Do you think we should ask permission from people in our lives before we talk about them in our memoir?
Thanks for your question, Terry. I’m not in favor of asking for permission, Terry. What do we do if they say “no?” What if several family members say, “no?” Do you abandon the project? It’s my feeling that you should first write your story. That’s the hardest part, so get that out of the way. Then if a publisher is interested, you might want to have your family read it to get their perspective on your story and how you’ve written it. On the other hand, you might not want to! :) It’s an individual call. Good luck!