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This is the first thing you should do before you set out to write your memoir. It will guide you in your writing process.
Messages are lessons you want your readers to learn from your story. These lessons will be the reason they should keep reading your work. They are not reading to get to know you. Instead, they are reading because they too, can relate to what you are saying and therefore can draw life lessons from your experiences.
What does your book have to offer them? If all you do is talk about yourself, your readers will be bored. It’s like going on a date with someone who keeps talking about himself.
The idea of a memoir is to add value to another person’s life, so you must not be self centered. Value is relative. It can be defined as enlightening events, thought-provoking events, thrilling events, traumatic events and so on. Have your readers in mind as you write. Ask yourself, β What can my readers gain from this experience?
You don’t have to literally write these lessons down at the end of every chapter. Rather SHOW these lessons, your readers will write them out for themselves.
EXAMPLE
For example, I want to write about how I attained financial freedom. I can start with how broke I was previously; my lifestyle at that time, the things I did that counteracted my financial progress, the mistakes I made, my business fails. Then, I proceed to write about how I replaced my bad habits with good ones, how I set daily goals for myself, how I worked extra time to achieve my goal, the friends that had to fall away as I grew into better habits, the new friends who helped me in my growth, how I made use of these opportunities and how all these led to my freedom.
Writing like this makes people see how my situation was and how unlikely it would have been for me to break free from poverty, then it goes ahead to show how drastic changes occurred and the people who were important to my growth.
This way readers can identify with what you have gone through and can apply the lessons you have learnt to their own lives, too, without you having to clearly state these lessons.
In the end, when you are done writing your memoir, look back at the list of takeaways you made and see if these lessons can actually be drawn from your story.
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The cliche way to write your Memoir is to start at the beginning of that phase or experience of your life. Itβs a common way of storytelling. However, this will leave limited room to entice your reader. You can choose either of two recommended options: either start at the end or start just before the climax of your story. Starting from the end will pop up a question in the minds of your readers, β How did he get here?”
Starting just before the Climax of your story will have your readers wondering whatβs next? And right there and then, you have them hooked for a trip back to the beginning. Curiosity! Your story must inspire that in your reader. Your job will be to feed this curiosity by taking them down memory lane.
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It is obvious that memoirs are written in the first person. This is the narrative voice of the writer. Be careful not to sound like an adult when you are writing about yourself as a child. That would be unrealistic. The aim of a memoir is to be as realistic as possible. Your language, perception and even your vocabulary, should suit that of a child. This will make your audience relate better to what you are writing.
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Do not be afraid to employ some of the devices used in writing fiction. Don’t forget humor, sarcasms, flashbacks, metaphors, etc. These devices will make your story come alive. Describe the important characters in your story, important scenes, important behaviors and attributes, etc. A good memoir should capture the attention of the reader like a bestseller novel, think about Harry Potter or Game of Thrones.
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This simply means you should be able to put the reader right in the middle of the action. The reader should be able to not remember when your story became reality; they should be so invested that they feel what you felt and they understand your thoughts. Knowing how to SHOW your story, will give you the edge for their curiosity. Draw out emotions from the reader. If you are just plainly telling a story or summarising events, you will not be able to put your reader in your shoes. Here is an example:
Telling: βMy boyfriend was very abusive,.I was always scared of him.”
Showing: βI wore heavy makeup wherever I went, to cover up the bruises on my face. I learnt to not speak until I was spoken to; to take permission before going to the bathroom; to not knock on his door when I knew another woman was with himβ¦β
From reading the first example, one can not totally relate to the abuse, but in the second example, you can deduce that the woman was afraid of the boyfriend, even when she didn’t clearly state that fact. You know right away that he was abusive. The writer didn’t have to state that.
Showing your audience what happened instead of telling them, keeps them glued to your book.
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You might have had a bitter experience, but calling people out wouldn’t help things. You don’t have to throw others under the bus while telling your story. It may be easy to just paint a poor picture of other people and make yourself a saint. That will not be good for your audience. Write from a place of neutrality; present the entirety of yourself: behaviours, emotions, thoughts and reflections, and present the forces in your story. Let your reader decide the rest for themselves. You can invent names to hide people’s identity. This would also help you stay confident in writing; because you are not worried about what people would say.
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You can never write a good story if you haven’t read one before. Read about other people’s lives. Identify what makes you keep reading. Point out what you don’t like in the stories. Employ the same technique you see in other people’s works. You’ll find it really easy to communicate your own experiences while writing your memoir.
If you follow the guidelines stated above, you are set to start telling your powerful story with the assurance that your audience will be glued to your book and will follow through every step of the way. Be sure to proofread and edit when you are done; you can also hire a professional (like me) in that case. When allβs done, your story will be ready for publication.
Read and learn more!
My name is Racheal Asikpo. I can take the creative weight of completing your stories. I can also give you 70% distance from the writing and research. I offer ghostwriting, developmental editing and copyediting services. How about you allow a fresh pair of eyes give you a fresh breath of air?
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