4 Tips to Write a Memoir Essay

A memoir essay is the chronicling of past events/history of the author. It is a true story drawn from one’s life. Nonetheless, it is purposely written and structured for literary consideration.

Though one of the oldest literary genres, a memoir essay is still very popular. It is used to tell a story while considering some big life questions and taking into account personal experiences.

Memoire typically comes in around 2000 to 10,000 words. Written in a first-person pronoun, it talks about the author’s personal life experience. Even though it is a nonfiction type of writing, it makes use of some techniques and creativity of fiction. 

A memoir essay, unlike an autobiography, does not tell an entire life story of the writer

Similar to other forms of nonfiction, memoir essays involve a lot of literary devices and fiction techniques. Also, it may not follow any Chronology, and the author may or may not be the main character. This means another person related to the author may be the main character of the essay.

In writing a memoir, the author may discuss his/her relationship with family, friends, or strangers. That notwithstanding, it is kept in a narrow scope. It means you can focus on your relationship with a single person or key events to a tragic or life-changing experience. 

4 Tips for Writing a Memoir Essay

Unlike many other types of essays, coming by a subject for your memoir is not a difficult task. You can choose to write about anything. The only thing that matters much is your writing style and how you can put together all past experiences to make sense to the reader. So the subject could be about your career life, college experience, living with estranged parents, or an event that had a substantial impact on your life. It could also be your family life, and abuse you suffered, or how you came by an invention.

Before you start writing your memoir, here are some tips to consider.

Consider the writing about things that keeps appearing to you

Memories are significant parts of human endeavor. You may have encountered a situation in childhood; however, the event keeps appearing to you as if it happened yesterday or has become a scar in your life. Such an event is worth writing about. It could be a rape attempt or a near-death situation. 

You can alter the structure 

Yes, it is about your life experience; however, it shouldn’t follow a strict order to write per when the specific event occurred. Feel free to manipulate the times of the event to create some anxiety or suspense among readers.

Include images if possible

Adding images to your memoir essay can make it lively and exciting. These images should also come with captions to give essence to it. If it’s about your days in college, pictures of you such moments will be appropriate. 

Include the good and the bad memories

Do not try to make yourself look good or become a hero in your memory. The memoir shouldn’t only include your good deeds or being a victim of a situation, but also how reckless you became or some wrong decisions you made in life. It should be a reflection of a sort.

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