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Unlock your storytelling journey with expert guidance
Memoir writing isn't just for celebrities and politicians. For anyone prone to self-reflection and ready to give shape to your memories and experiences, Memoir Writing For Dummies is your definitive guide. This book offers a concrete roadmap for writing a captivating memoir. Get advice on exploring your past, mapping out your story, and perfecting your plot, setting, character, and dialogue. You'll also find information on recruiting the help of AI and digital media for a more dynamic storytelling experience. Whether you're an amateur author with a story to tell or a bestselling author trying out a new genre, Memoir Writing For Dummies will guide you every step of the way.
Everyone has a story worth sharing, and Memoir Writing For Dummies provides would-be memoirists with the essential tools they need to share their life stories with the world and become published authors.
Ryan G. Van Cleave, PhD, is a writing coach, keynote speaker, and award-winning author of 40+ books. He runs the creative writing program at the Ringling College of Art and Design and serves as Editor at Bushel & Peck, a children's book publisher. Ryan has taught memoir writing at universities, conferences, and workshops.
Introduction 1
About this Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: the First Steps to Writing a Memoir 5
Chapter 1: Diving into Memoir Writing: Just the Basics 7
Understanding the DNA of a Memoir 8
Identifying the Essential Parts of a Memoir 9
Making the Necessary Revisions and Edits to Help Your Memoir Shine 10
Focusing on the End Goal: Publication 11
Answering the Key Question: Why Write a Memoir? 14
Chapter 2: Getting Started: What You Need to Know about Writing Your Memoir 17
Exploring Why People Write Memoirs Anyway 18
Granting Yourself Permission to Write a Memoir 25
Focusing on More Than Just Fame and Fortune 27
Tapping into the Vaults of Memory 28
Contemplating the Role of Reading 30
Finding your audience 32
Understanding subgenre 33
Chapter 3: Understanding What Readers Expect: The Story Behind a Good Story 35
Following the Traditional Story 36
Seeing Your Story as a Pyramid 42
Eyeing the Importance of Plot 48
Chapter 4: Researching and Remembering: Gathering Enough Material 49
Tapping into Your Past: Unlocking Your Memories 50
Putting on Your Researcher's Cap: Uncovering Vital Info about Yourself 52
Using Others as a Mirror to See Yourself 57
Sticking to the Truth: Avoid Embellishment 60
Chapter 5: Developing Ideas like the Pros 63
Summoning Your Muse: How to Get Inspired 64
Giving Yourself Some Structure 72
Breaking Past Writer's Block 75
Part 2: Telling Your Story with Pizzazz 79
Chapter 6: Giving Your Story Some Structure 81
Going Chronological 82
Taking a Nonlinear Approach 83
Embracing Episodic Storytelling 84
Sticking with a Thematic Structure: Focus on Connective Threads 87
Recognizing Unconventional Structures 88
Developing an Outline that Works for You 89
Chapter 7: Considering Scenes and Setting 99
Maximizing Scene Power 100
Defining Setting: Where It's All At 106
Creating a Sense of Place 109
Building Atmosphere 111
Chapter 8: The Character of Characters 119
Understanding What Makes a Good Character 120
Identifying Character Archetypes 127
Making Characters Three-Dimensional 130
Ensuring That Characters Evolve 132
Dealing with Minor Characters 136
Chapter 9: Making the Most of Dialogue 139
Managing Memoir Dialogue Differently than Novel Dialogue 140
Recognizing What Good Dialogue Should Do for Your Manuscript 141
Identifying the Four Types of Dialogue 147
Managing the Mechanics 151
Drafting Speech that Sounds Real versus Real Speech 153
Writing Less Is More 155
Considering Accents and Dialect 158
Recognizing Where Dialogue Goes Awry 161
Chapter 10: Maximizing the Power of Voice 165
Grasping Voice: Your Manuscript's Soul 166
Being a Minimalist versus Maximalist 168
Shaping Tone 169
Creating Irony 172
Generating Humor 173
Using (Yes, I Said "Using") Clichés 175
Chapter 11: Handling Point of View 177
Understanding Your Basic Options 177
Recognizing When "I" Isn't "Me" 186
Using More Than One Point of View 187
Creating Narrative Distance 188
Chapter 12: Bold Beginnings, Magnificent Middles, and Fantastic Finishes 191
Going with the Three-Act Structure 192
Beginning with the First Scene: Setting Up Act 1 194
Moving to the Middle Scenes: Making Act 2 Work 197
Ending with the Final Scene: Closing Act 3 201
Part 3: Revising, Editing, and Pushing Your Story to the Next Level. 207
Chapter 13: Making Revisions 209
Differentiating Between Revision and Editing 210
Embracing Rigor and Honesty in Your Revision Process 212
Developing Your Revision Process (and Sticking to It) 213
Navigating with a Road Map: A Nine-Item Checklist 214
Incorporating Three More Advanced Revision Tactics 216
Chapter 14: Adjusting the Big Picture: Fine-Tuning Structure and Story 219
Sizing Up Your Story: Maintaining Proportion 220
Revving Up the Story's Engine: Bring on Conflicts Big and Small 221
Adjusting the Pace 222
Using Transitions Effectively 226
Chapter 15: Saying the Unsayable: Knowing What to Include or Exclude 231
Addressing Painful Memories with Care and Purpose 232
Touching on the Taboo: Family Secrets with the Living 234
Dealing with the Dead: Unclear or Missing Information 235
Looking at the Ethics of a Memoir 236
Navigating Legal Considerations 239
Chapter 16: Streamlining Your Story with Sentence-Level Edits 243
Having a Firm Grasp on Grammar 244
Appeasing Your High School English Teacher: Avoid Wordiness 245
Showing versus Telling 249
Avoiding Amateur Constructions 251
Steering Clear of Common Grammar Issues 253
Maximizing the Active Voice 257
Chapter 17: Getting Outside Help: Critique Groups, Editors, Experts, and Sensitivity Readers 259
Trusting the Feedback Process 260
Joining a Critique Group 260
Finding a Golden Reader 264
Bringing in a Professional Editor 265
Seeking Expert Guidance 270
Part 4: Sharing Your Story: a Publishing Primer 275
Chapter 18: Locating and Landing a Literary Agent 277
Seeing What a Good Literary Agent Can Do for You 278
Finding an Agent Who Meets Your Needs 280
Hooking the Right Agent 283
Making Sense of an Agent Agreement 287
Chapter 19: Making Sense of Traditional Publishing and the Submission Process 293
Researching Publishers 294
Working with a Publisher: The Pros 297
Going with a Publisher: The Cons 300
Crafting a Winning Query Letter 305
Grasping the Power of a Proposal: Think like a Publisher 307
Staying Away from Serious Submission Don'ts 308
Using Subsidy/Vanity Publishers 311
Chapter 20: Going It Alone: Self-Publishing, E-Publishing, and Audiobook Publishing 315
Examining Self-Publishing and E-Publishing 316
Deciding Whether to Self-Publish: The Pros and Cons 319
Expanding Your Reach with Audiobooks and Multimedia Formats 322
Facing the Reality of E-Publishers 324
Researching and Working with Printers 329
Pricing Your Book: Two Philosophies 333
Letting Amazon Distribute Your Book: You Need to Do More 334
Chapter 21: Promoting Your Finished Product (and Yourself) 337
Understanding Marketing versus Publicity 338
Finding Cost-Effective Ways to Promote Your Book 339
Marketing Your Memoir: A Little Monetary Investment Can Pay Off 347
Bringing in Professional Help: Hiring a Freelance Publicist 351
Part 5: the Part of Tens 355
Chapter 22: Ten Myths about Memoirs 357
No One Reads Memoirs 358
You Have to Be a Celebrity to Write One 358
My Family and Friends Remember Things Differently 360
People Will Hate Me If I Include Them 360
I Can't Write an Entire Book 361
I'm Going to Be Rich and Famous 361
My Life Is So (Insert Adjective Here) that It Will Be a Bestseller 362
I Don't Have Any Writing Credentials 362
I've Been Journaling for Years So Writing My Memoir Will Be a Breeze 363
I'll Get to It Later 363
Chapter 23: Ten Reasons Memoirs Are Rejected 365
Insufficient Editing 366
Data Dumping versus Storytelling 366
Lack of Focus 367
Improper/Incomplete Submission Procedure 368
Skips/Avoids the Juiciest, Most Interesting Parts 368
Incredibly Slooooow Pace 369
Lack of a True Emotional Experience 369
Theme Bludgeons the Readers 370
The Story Is Overly (and Unnecessarily) Complicated 370
The Writing Is Merely Competent versus Exciting 371
Index 373
