Guest Post by Linda Austin
November is National Lifewriting Month where everyone,
writer or not, is encouraged to work on writing down their own stories or those
of their family members, particularly elders. Lifewriting captures personal
stories, often including history and culture, and may provide inspiration and
healing. While memoir has gotten a bad rap the last few years as several
authors have been outed for telling blatant lies or accused by family members
of great exaggeration, memoir really is nonfiction. But, it is narrative
nonfiction, a peculiar cross between nonfiction and fiction.
A good memoir is not a stuffy history book immersed in dates
and facts or a boring recitation of what happened. It is telling a story that
happens to be true, and telling it in living color. A memoir may have one
overall story arc or be a series of short stories following the path of an
overall arc. Like fiction, each chapter must entice and lead the reader to the
next.
A memoir should begin with a hook, have a plot, and bring
the reader into the protagonist’s life with realistic dialog and well-developed
characters—just as in fiction. Plot should include conflict and resolution. The
writer must stick with a theme, avoid distractions, and be skillful if
including backstory. Common memoir themes include overcoming tragedy or abuse,
surviving or dealing with an illness, learning an important life lesson,
discovering oneself. They say a good writer can turn even the most boring life
into an interesting story, but then no one actually has a boring life.
Some memoirs are a series of short stories with an overall
theme. Imagine a chapter book from elementary school, or a series of related
flash fiction pieces. Each chapter can stand alone with a little hook and a
final sentence of resolution or summary. This type of memoir is more common
when telling stories that focus on culture or history, such as growing up on a
farm or growing up in the 60s. This style is also effective for humorous
memoir, say, about parenting experiences or moving to a different country.
Perhaps the main difference between memoir and fiction is
that fiction, even fantasy, must be believable, whereas in memoir, the truth
can seem impossible.
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Linda Austin wrote and published Cherry Blossoms in Twilight, her mother's memoir of growing up in
Japan around WWII, and became an advocate of lifewriting. She encourages others
via her Moonbridgebooks.com website to write their stories or that of their
elders as legacy gifts for their families.
Recently Linda published Poems That Come to Mind, a collection of
short poems, mostly haiku and tanka, inspired by the journey through her
mother’s Alzheimer’s care.
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