Want to write a memoir? Where should you start? Perhaps you’d like to play around with ideas and see where they take you. If so, here are a selection of memoir writing activities to help get the creative juices flowing.
The new way to write your life story
If you like the idea of writing a memoir but have absolutely no idea how your life might translate into one, then take a look at this list of ten legacy themes by Richard Campbell. Each theme comes with questions to help you delve a little deeper and an invitation to write a story. Which theme will you choose?
Start writing your memoir with these two activities
In this article, writing coach Danielle Fetherson offers activities to help uncover your memoir’s theme and timeline. Starting with the all-important question of ‘why’, the activities take you through the process of understanding your motivations for writing and the key events that have shaped your story. Danielle also offers a handy explanation of the difference between memoir and autobiography.
3 essential memoir ideas
These three simple activities by Roberta Temes – author of How to Write a Memoir in 30 Days – aim to get to the heart of your memoir, and quickly. They encourage you to pin down the key focus of your story and the crucial incident (or incidents) that shaped it, as well as begin to explore your motivations within the story itself.
Good luck! Let me know how you get on and do share your thoughts about how to start a memoir in the comments below.