Memoir Writing: Some Bits and Pieces to Tell

Memoir writing is a rather thoughtful process expressed perhaps as a series of carefully, articulated words which tell your life in bits and pieces. It is really a trip back in time, an honest reflection of oneself over specific points in time with lots of emotional soul-searching. You do not have to be famous to write a memoir since the main reason for writing the memoir would be to share one's life in the way a novelist shares a well-crafted read. There must be a purpose for it which the reader can relate to. For instance, it could reflect on the timeline defining the period after World War II or maybe touch base on the events leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall as another example.

There are two primary reasons for memoir writing:

1. Writing for Emotional Fulfillment
Perhaps, you are the type who sees memoir writing as a way of sharing one's life with the hopes of teaching and encouraging the value of self-learning through self-discovery. Maybe, there was a drawback in your life that warranted the need to write your memoir as a self-help process.

2. Writing to Understand Past Events
The decision to write a memoir may spring from a need to understand why specific events even happened. For instance it could delve into a momentous time of your life when history remakes itself and the way of the world as it reflected on your family, was worth the telling. Or it could simply be the time when the grandfather you never knew came into your life and changed the way you thought of him.

The best memoir writing is when the writer skillfully indulges a novelist hand into perfecting a manuscript that simply engages and holds the reader's attention throughout, building the characters and letting them play their roles well as the story matures towards the end. This means the memoir writer creates enough textual content and scenes that allows the reader to visualize the story, enabling the thought processes to take effect as the reader eventually seeks gratification in finishing the absorbing read. And there must be a beginning, a middle ground and an ending that skillfully wraps the story to unprecedented levels and which leaves the desired effect simmering through the reader's mind when he/she finally puts the book down.

The bottom line is a memoir needn't be a boring book. In fact, many best seller books have turned out to be memoirs written by the ordinary person. Perhaps, the author had been successful in engaging a personal touch that takes one through the rhythm of a skillful novelist read. But weave the wrong perceptions in your memoir and you could be doomed! This could really lead to unfortunate results, perhaps fueling a public outrage of some sort or creating a negative response from all those mentioned in the memoir read. Revenge is the last tool of the trade to seek and does little to convince a reader of your desire to share and tell. In effect, it resonates your voice with malice, anger and all the tell tale signs that you have not risen too well. No one cares to read a sob story that tells nothing and brings absolutely nothing but anger to the table.

In all, memoir writing can be fun, a way of understanding oneself but it can be an emotionally exhausting process and spiritually, a step that involves a tremendous amount of soul searching. Tell your life as honestly as you can and let your audience decide. Always make the writing interesting with parts that make the reader comfortable as one would do when picking up a novel that promises plenty.

And do remember one thing - you do not have to be a famous person or a member of a well known community or group to get heard in any way; if the memoir is strong and filled with a purpose, the reader will naturally follow with a purchase.