Memoir is a wonderfully elastic form. It's like an empty suitcase, just waiting to be filled with almost anything. As you think about what you're going to include in your memoir, you don't have to limit yourself to telling stories, or even (on a deeper, more psychological level) to using life events to explore the meaning of your life. There are many other things you can include to bring variety, breadth, and depth to your personal story. Here are a dozen ideas to get you started. (You'll probably come up with others.)
- Favorite family sayings. My grand- mother's favorite saying-"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or pass it on"-has become a kind of family mantra. It says a great deal about the kind of people we are.
- A family tree. Whether you are writing a family history or telling your soul's story, it's helpful to know where you came from.
- Recipes. Food (memorable holiday foods, favorite family dishes, recipes passed down from mother to daughter) holds special memories and meaning. Include recipes that show your family's ethnic or geographical history, your personal tastes, your travels.
- Maps. You might want to include a small map of a beloved place, a map of your travels, a map of places you've lived.
- Quotations from your journal. If you've kept a journal, you can include relevant snippets from it. Be sure and include the date, as well.
- Quotations you enjoy. Some memoirists use quotations as sections headings, or as subjects to write about. Sometimes just the quotation by itself says it all. Other things you might try: lines from popular songs, verses of hymn, favorite poetry. (If you publish your work for sale, you'll need to get permission.)
- A sketch. You don't have to be a Rembrandt. A simple drawing of a flower, a piece of furniture, an item of jewelry, a remembered house-these can be wonderfully evocative.
- A humorous sketch. Ilene Beckerman, the author of Love, Loss, and What I Wore has drawn and colored child-like pictures of her most memorable outfits to illustrate her memoir. The pictures lend a kind of poignant nostalgia to her story.
- Calligraphic headings. Can you do calligraphy or some other decorative lettering? If so, you can use it for section or chapter titles, or to draw attention to something important. For that matter, you can handwrite your entire memoir, perhaps on handmade paper, in a beautifully bound book.
- Titles. If you haven't titled your chapters and headings, do. The titles don't have to be clever, but aim for an interesting or memorable phrase that captures the spirit of the material
- Photos. You can place a photo on each page and use it as the subject of your writing. Or you can assemble several photos in a montage. You can also use photos as chapter or section divisions.
- Newspaper clippings. If you have a folder of old clippings tucked away in a drawer, pull them out and use them in appropriate places. You might want to photocopy them, to preserve the original.
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A SPECIAL PLACE FOR WRITING
Lots of us would like to write our stories, but we find it hard to get started-and maybe even harder to keep the momentum going. Writers who have a comfortable, quiet, and inviting place to work are more likely to settle down and write.
Create a special writing place
Start by asking yourself what kind of space you would like to work in. Would you prefer to work indoors, or would you like to work in a favorite outdoor space? How about that empty corner of the bedroom? Or the upstairs guest room? Or the dining nook you hardly ever use? Whatever space you choose, be sure you can have the privacy you need. It's hard to write when the kids are roaring through the room!
Assemble your tools, equipment, resources
The most important tool is your writing tool. Pen? Typewriter? Computer? Decide what you are going to use and where and how it best fits into your work space. What else will you need? Artists supplies? Bookshelves? Reference books? File cabinet? A good lamp.
Add your own unique touches
Some writers work best in a spartan environment, with nothing around to distract them. Others like to look up from their work and see evocative, familiar, or beautiful things. Which kind of writer are you? Do you prefer music, candles, flowers, a rug, an extra chair-or would you like to strip down to the bare essentials, like a Zen nun?
Go there and get to work
The best writing space in the world won't help you create a single page until you go there and settle down to work. Good luck!
About LifeStory Briefs
LifeStory Briefs is a series of tip sheets to help women create their life stories. This number was written by
Susan Wittig Albert
for Story Circle Network Inc. For information about the series or the Network, contact us via email:
storycircle@storycircle.org
or phone:
512-454-9833
or write to:
Story Circle Network
P.O. Box 500127
Austin, TX 78750-0127
http://www.storycircle.org
© 1999 by Story Circle Network
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