On Writing a Memoir

A memoir is not a review of an entire life. It is merely a piece of that life – a snippet, a chunk, an event that has taken place during that person’s life. It's the snapshot, not the album. The events are told from that person’s point of view.


“The writer of a memoir takes us back to a corner of his or her life that is usually vivid or intense.”
Zinsser,W (Ed). (1987). “Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft Of Memoir”


A memoir incorporates a sequence of feelings, thoughts and observations surrounding the chosen event. Often the writer comes to a personal reflection on this event.

How does this event reflect my life?

What feelings, thoughts and observations are keys to this event?

Introduction - in which the author shares important information about the setting, including the time and date of the experience. The information in the introduction usually answers – who, what, where, when and why. The next section lays out the detail of the selected event. Students need to outline and organize the events before writing them down. The final element is a concluding statement, which is an optional extra in a memoir. It may detail a lesson learned, an observation on life, a reflection on the event, following the passage of time.


Questions For Memoirists

• What are your earliest memories?
• How far back can you remember?
• What have you seen that you can’t forget?
• What’s an incident that shows what your family and you are like?
• What’s an incident that shows what your friends are like?
• What’s something that happened at school that you’ll always remember?
• What’s something that happened to you at home that you ’II always remember?
• What’s an incident that changed how you think or feel about something?
• What’s an incident that changed your life?
• What’s a time or place where you were perfectly happy?
• What’s a time or place where you laughed a lot?
• What’s a time or place when it felt as if your heart was breaking?
• What’s a time with a parent that you’ll never forget?
• What’s a time with a grandparent that you’ll never forget?
• What’s a time with a brother or sister that you’ll never forget?
• What’s a time with a relative that you’ll never forget?
• Can you remember a time you learned to do something for the first time?
• What memories emerge when you make a time line of your life so far?
• What are the most important things that have happened to you each year of your life?

Adapted from Lessons That Change Writers, Nancie Atwell