Memoir Writing: Finding Inspiration

Tips 'n Tricks That Can Help When You're Facing a Blank Screen

I’ve been asked many of the same questions over the years about my writing process, particularly when it comes to sharing such intimate, personal stories.

How can you remember that far back?
How do you remember things in such great detail?
Are your stories really true?
When is your book coming out?

I believe there is an innate curiosity about the memoir genre from writers and non-writers alike. I’m well aware that memoir is looked down on by some—or rather, misunderstood in that the genre seems to have a reputation for being self-absorbed, light, “glorified journal writing,” and the worst one of all, “why would anyone think their life is interesting enough to write about?”

If you think about it, memoir is a bit like the stand-up comedy of writing.

It’s raw, personal, and leaves you even more vulnerable because you are your main character. It’s like you are standing on stage telling stories of your life to an audience who went into the club with two intentions: to either be fully entertained or get drunk and heckle you the hell off the stage.

Why Memoir Writing Is More Difficult Than It Seems

So, is writing a memoir piece like sitting down and pouring your heart out into a journal? Is it as simple as that?

No. A thousand times no.

Sure, a writer can have a knack for the genre—it may come more easily to some than others. It may be your sweet spot. But like any other writing genre, it takes work, practice, and refinement.

There are many reasons writing memoir can be challenging. Some include:

• Finding inspiration

• Fear of what family and friends may think

• How to approach including other people in your memoir

• Remembering details

• Fear of vulnerability — (“What if my story is only interesting to me?”)

• Finding your true voice

Inspiration

Finding inspiration is unique to each writer. It can have a lot to do with your background, personality, the type of writer you are, and what tools you have on hand.

Inspirational Tools

• Photographs

• Music

• Old journals or letters

• Videos

• Chats with family, friends, etc.

• Writing prompts

• Reading

All of the above are wonderful ways to induce your sense memory if you are in need of story inspiration. Even if you already know what you want to write about, if you have photographs from that time, or songs that make you think of that time period—sometimes looking at those photos or playing the songs while you write can evoke a sense of emotion as you write transporting you almost back in time. It may help jog your memory of some of the more minute details or help you creatively color in gaps with colorful brush strokes.

The inspirational tools may seem obvious or overly simple, but they really do work and can go a long way when you are crafting a piece.

If you have writer’s block and need inspiration, a prompt can be useful in helping you find a story within yourself that you hadn’t even considered. Over at The Memoirist, I started a 100-Word Micro Memoir challenge for our writers. I hadn’t anticipated it would go over as well as it did, but it was wildly successful.

One hundred words for a writer—let alone a memoirist—is not a lot. So what this exercise does is it forces the writer to tell a complete story with limited words so they need to be clear and concise while conveying emotion. Many of our writers were able to tell stories that they didn’t think had enough details for a larger piece—however, through the process, they found there was much more to work with than they previously thought. I anticipate we’ll see fuller evolutions of some of these micro-memoirs soon on our publication. You can read more about why I believe micro-memoirs are helpful here.

Reading

If you are interested in writing memoirs, reading other memoir authors can be extremely enlightening (if not entertaining!). I enjoy reading other essayists and my bookshelves are home to many books from the memoir genre.

Reading other memoirists is a great way to learn about style, voice, and structure, inspire your own stories, and learn about the artistry of literary restraint.

What is literary restraint, you ask? I think I’ll cover that in next week’s post!

About Those Questions….

Curious about how I’d answer the questions I referred to in my first paragraph? Sure—I’ll play:

• How can you remember that far back? I’ve always had a really good long-term memory. Can’t remember what I ate for breakfast this morning, but can remember stuff from Kindergarten like it was yesterday!

• How do you remember things in such great detail? Music and photographs are my go-to for invoking sense memory. Music has always been an important part of my life and I have so many photographs, letters, and journals from throughout my life. It helps being a packrat!

• Are your stories really true? I’ve really only recently started playing with fiction writing—and I’m pretty clear about it when I’m writing fiction or poetry—so, yes. My stories are 100% true. If I fictionalize anything I say so.

• When is your book coming out? This question always embarrasses me and I get it a lot. It’s always been my #1 goal with my writing—but then I took my decade-long hiatus. I have other excuses like work and all that. But I’ll be completely honest. I’m scared! I want to publish, I have a memoir plotted out, now I need to figure out how to go about it. Maybe this is a journey we all can take together. The truth is, I’m not even sure where to start. See? I told you I don’t have all the answers!

Have questions or thoughts about this week’s post? Is there anything you’d like me to cover in the future? Sound off in the comments!