Memoir Class Was Memorable

Linda Joy Myers, PhD., taught a very good six hour memoir class, sponsored by South Bay Writers, given on November 6 at  Lookout Restaurant banquet room in Sunnyvale.

First, I have to admit, the memoir I was writing was not a memoir at all—it was too long and detailed—it was a journal.  It seemed to attempt to chronicle about every minute of my life—wrong!

A memoir should be more focus than that, be focused around a definite theme that can be gleaned from my life, and generally cover a shorter time period than one's entire life.

To get a handle on what my theme might be, she gave us a blank timeline handout and told us to think up 5 to 10 major turning points that existed in our lives—major telling decisions that affected the future, perhaps disasters, unusual family situations. But, in order to cut down on superfluous detail, she said to try to limit them to six or seven (or less) key turning points. I should then boil these down to perhaps three or four—they must have to do with the selected theme, and that theme probably would be reflected in the title.

Other than that, treat the memoir as a novel, a story: draw the reader in with an especially interesting, exciting midpoint occurrence, and, like any good story, the story should have drama, narrative summary, scenes with action and dialog eliciting emotions in the reader, sensory detail (to make it real). Your story should have a beginning, middle, and ending.

Linda Joy Myer prefers upbeat endings, illustrating some victory or some learning that occurred that would appeal to your prospective readers.

Oh, yes, we are talking about a memoir you want to sell commercially, to have published, and go through bookstores (or to self-published and market it yourself).

I have more detailed notes, of course, and I hope to get back and read them and apply them if I ever really get focusing on my memoir. I am still writing my novel on Shoshoni Indians and my characters distinctions aren't good enough so I'm working on them.

Making out a written, physical timeline is a very powerful step in keeping your memoir focused and telling a relevant story. Think of turning points as transformations, opportunities for growth, whether successfully exploited or not.

Then she went into the fact that, even though your memory may be imperfect, it's all right—in fact, expected—to invent scenes from your recollections and put quoted dialog, even though 20 years later you surely do not remember every word and every gesture. The reader needs this feeling of tangibility, and, if the essentials of the truth, as you see them (may be made more dramatic), are there, who could complain?  Caveat: I'm not a lawyer and neither is Linda. At the present time, I see more info here.

She went into detail and answered questions on whether or not to change names to protect your loved ones from embarrassment and that sort of thing. The answer seems to be situational, depending on the sensitivity that you know these individuals have, and your ability to smooth stated remembrances over with them. No two people will remember the same event the same, so the writer needs to recognize this to, and learn when he is treading into sensitive territory. If someone is alive, you should go over the sensitive part with that person and see if that is acceptable with them. Caveat: I'm not a lawyer and neither is Linda. I see more info here.

Pack your memoir with thoughts (at the time of the story and/or at the time of narration) to elicit emotion--show trouble and how it was overcome.

Linda Joy Meyers, Ph.D., MFT, President and Founder of National Association of Memoir Writers, is a skilled workshop presenter.