What Are Memoirs and How Do I Write My Own Memoirs?

So What are Memoirs?

Memoirs are, quite simply, memories. They focus on particular events, times, people in your life: your first day at school; your father marching to war; how the first supermarket changed your town. Memoirs could be about someone you saved from drowning, the time you won a dance contest, when you overcame shyness to make a speech or all of these.

Whatever is significant to you is also significant to others, especially your family. Human Beings are both storytellers and story lovers. Our first histories were all oral, passed down through generations, giving a sense of continuity, instruction and, most importantly, a sense of belonging. We all want to know where we come from, who we come from, what life was like for those before us. Without a sense of family history, people can feel lost, without roots and less secure within themselves.

Memoirs are a wonderful source of information. Local historical societies welcome personal histories and memoirs to enrich their archives. One of the first ports of call for historians, anthropologists and social researchers are historical societies and community museums. Why not add your own unique pespective and voice to this rich historical tapestry through your own memoirs.

Your stories are important. We can't all achieve greatness, but we are of great interest to each other. Humans are driven by curiosity, especially about how others live and manage the very ordinariness of life. Small communities satisfied much of this curiosity by their intimate nature. These days we often live separated lives and lack a sense of belonging. Memoirs can help overcome this sense of isolation.

Here are just a few basic ideas to help get you get started on your own memoirs:

What do you want the main focus of your memoirs to be?

• A time
• A place
• A person
• An experience

What is it about this time, place, person or experience that you want to tell?

• How it made you feel
• Was it funny, scary, sad, challenging, life changing
• Who else was there
• What happened with/to them

Build the memory through use of:

• Colours
• Smells
• Sounds
• Feelings
• People

What else was happening around that time?

• In the news
• At the movies
• What music was popular
• Who was President/Prime Minister/Governor/King/Queen
• How was the milk delivered

Relax and let your thoughts and memories coalesce into a scene' in your mind's eye. This will help you turn your memoirs into a story format. Write or tape or tell your story to help clarify it further and reinforce the imagery in your mind.

Make a start, it doesn't matter where. You will probably find once you start writing, the memories will come and writing your memoirs will get easier.

Finally; don't be afraid to seek help. Those around you - family and friends - probably have memories that can add to your own, or can help you clarify the events and how you want to describe them. If you need professional assistance then there are a number of professional services that can provide assistance from basic suggestions right through to co-writing, editing and publishing your memoirs.

Also it can be fun to start your children writing down their own memories when they are young. Make it a game and their love of writing and language will grow with their use of simple memoirs and the whole family will have a fun record of their childhood from their very own perspective!