Whether you are writing memoir for publication or as family history, you want someone to read your work. Writing is hard, and no one wants the reader to slam their book shut with a yawn and never pick it up again. Not only must you employ all the craft of writing engaging prose and believable dialogue, you must also bring in the techniques of novel writing to hook the reader and maintain his or her interest. Good books don’t just happen, they are carefully crafted with the reader in mind. This is as true with memoir as it is in fiction.
Characters—especially you: You must make the reader care about the people in your story. Show the reader who you are as early as possible. This does not mean reading your resume. The reader must bond with the main character, you, and develop a vested interest in what happens to that character. This only happens when emotion is shared. What is that character feeling as the events take place? Can the reader stand in your shoes and see the events through your eyes? Can the reader feel the impact of the events on your inner self? That is what makes a gripping memoir. It doesn’t matter if the event is one with earth-shaking consequences or a simple kitchen accident.
World Building: Younger people cannot understand things that happened in the past if they can’t imagine the past. As an example, my children, who are grown with children of their own, have trouble wrapping their minds around the idea of a bus station in a small town having two water fountains and four bathrooms. Although it makes me happy to know it is difficult for them to imagine the segregated South as reality, it means I must remember it is an alien world to them, and I have to make the setting clear. World building of the world you took for granted is not easy. I often resent having to spell out some things that I feel should be obvious. Only when I hear a chance remark like “way back then, in 1982…” does it hit me. To me 1982 is totally familiar. I had two sons in college. It’s hard to remember I am writing for people who think of it as “way back then.”
Research Your Novel: There have been many studies of people witnessing the same event and reporting different facts. Even though one of the reasons to write memoir is to tell events as you remember them—complete with feelings, emotions, and personal responses, there must be some adherence to the actual events, especially those with which the reader may be familiar. If you write of an event such as the assassination of John F Kennedy as happening on a Sunday as you were coming out of church, yet anyone who remembers or looks it up finds that it took place on a Friday, your credibility is damaged. The rest of your work becomes less interesting in the eyes of the reader. If you discuss the huge snowfall that fell on Thanksgiving Day, make sure it was the right year and the right place.
Add Color to your Writing: All of the skills listed above will add color and interest to your work. Just remember the reason you are putting your remembrances on paper is for someone to read them. Keep them turning pages.
The World Changes
I am but the child I was born, writ large
I long for the cool touch
of a mother’s hand
upon my fevered brow.
And the sanctuary of a warm embrace
to shelter from a cold and cruel world,
a loving hand to wipe the tears
a shoulder to soak the falling drops
As I watch the world I knew
morph slowly into madness.