The Trendsetter

Being a writer is not a career choice - it is a lifestyle - so I’ve heard. If you need a 9 to 5 job to make a living, being a writer is not a choice, not to mention when you graduate with your first degree to prepare you to enter the workforce and get paid, yet, you choose to become a writer for other reasons. This is one of my life stories. It is one of the happiest memories in my life and now here I am trying to relive it again.

Everyone has experienced events in their life that are shaped into happy or sad memories. Do you remember your first puppy love? Your first success in something you loved to do? Why not turn it into a memoir?

There is a writer inside all of us ready to get out. Writing about your life story will help to bring out the unfinished business in the past and help you to understand why it happened. You will learn a lesson from it through your reflections on the story.

To guide you on how to write a memoir, you can ask yourself these three questions:

1. What – what life experiences you want to write and share with the world? Write the title to answer this question or write a summary for the memoir you plan to write.

2. Why – why do you want to write about it? Are you seeking closure? Do you want readers to learn from the mistake(s) you made? Or do you just want to share your story? Explaining your purpose in writing a memoir will help you to be clear about the direction of your writing.

3. How - how you are going to write your memoir? Many ‘how to write memoir guides’ can help you to write your life story. You can use conversation, musing and more. You also need to change the names of the people who are involved to protect them. Memoir is about telling the truth. You have to write from the heart - for this is one of the reasons why people will read your memoir. Writing a memoir is soul cleansing for the writer as well as for the reader.

When you have an answer to all three questions, you are ready to start outlining your memoir. Then you can expand it as much as you want so it becomes a blueprint for your writing. You can start outlining your chapters with titles on each of them. Next, you just start writing, chapter by chapter. You don’t need to write chronologically. You can always choose the title you like for the day and start writing it.

Whenever you are experience a writer’s block, refers back to the three questions above and continue to ask yourself and you will get back to your memoir writing immediately. Also, you can get help from books about writing in general to equip you with the writing techniques in creative nonfiction.

Wish you all the best and happy writing!