Writing Memoir
How to tell a Story from your life
If you weren't able to join my course as its the wrong time and date for you, or you don't live in London, never fear, I'm about to publish a 'how to' book on the subject, in a few weeks time.
Here's a preview - an extract
Chapter
One What
is memoir?
This is a big question
and much discussed by writers, readers and the literati. Here’s a working
definition – it’s a part of your life, not the whole life. The whole life is an autobiography. A memoir could cover two weeks, two months,
two years or even five years of your life.
Something happened to you in your chosen period of time that you want to
write about. Something different, possibly
something dramatic. May be it changed
your life in some way.
As a memoir writer, I
have often been told, ‘Why don’t you just tell your story as fiction – many
writers do? You avoid lots of problems
that way.’ Many writers decide it’s the only way to tell their story – they can
anonymise it and change the story around and fictionalise the characters
involved. That’s one option.
But I’ve
always liked to read memoirs, because I enjoy reading stories that are
‘true’. Often they are breathtakingly
extraordinary. When you’ve had something interesting, dramatic or extraordinary
happen in your life, you want to tell the true story, put it on record. These
stories are often better than fiction because you know they’re real. You may
feel (as I do), that you have a duty to tell some of your stories – if only for
historical reference for those born after many of the events. My first memoir -
A Hippopotamus at the Table was set
in 1970s South Africa, the apartheid era.
What was it like to be there and observe that time? As an outsider? Those
who read my book might find that out.
What other reasons are
there to write memoir not fiction? Writing my own memoir gave me an insight
into the many pitfalls and challenges of the genre.
If you want to buy my memoir A Hippopotamus At The Table it's on Amazon - click on the title to get the link.
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