There’s different ways to write a memoir. Plot or Pants. Plotting means that you plan out the structure of your book first, and (Writing by the seat of your) Pants means you just start writing, and figure the structure out later. Both approaches still need structure, it’s just that the structure happens at different parts in the process.
If you’re a plotter you’ll define your structure before you start writing, and if you’re a pantser you’ll define it once you’ve finished your first draft. And of course there are all sorts of hybrid scenarios that mix the two writing approach ups.
Let’s look at the two components to structure:
- The framework to build your book
- The theme that ties each chapter together
When you read a memoir that doesn’t have this two part structure you’ll feel lost or a little confused, and if you do make it to the end of the book you’ll feel disappointed because they didn’t deliver anything except maybe a chronology of events.
Memoir is a journey for the reader. It shows them that you started at Point A and reached Point Z. You tried and failed different things along the way, but by the end you need to have shown the reader that you experienced change—a transition.
Your framework acts as a roadmap for your reader’s journey, and your theme is what motivates them to keep going.
1. Framework to Build your Book
We talked about Point A-Z, but what are these?
Here’s two of the most widely used approaches for stories:
The Chronological Framework is the simplest structure to identify. A memoir starts at the earliest date of events, and we work our way to the most recent event relevant to our memoir. While this is easy to define it can lack tension, and end up sounding like you’ve just opened someone’s diary. This approach is fine as long as each chapter your write contributes to the theme.
The Dramatic Event Framework uses a pivotal story that spurred you into making a change. When you realized you had to stop doing what you’re doing, and try a different approach. This is the Aha moment in your story. Then you use a flashback approach to fill in the key events that have brought you to this point.
2. Theme to Tie your Chapters together
It we don’t spend time creating a structure for our book, it’ll end in tears. We’ll end up being confused about where to start it, and where the story ends.
And that middle bit?
It’ll end up being a meandering mess, because there’s no theme in your story, it’s just a group of individual anecdotes and strung together similar to a diary. Without a theme there’s nothing pushing the story forward, and you’ll end up losing your reader’s interest.
Next time you read a memoir, locate the key events in each chapter to work out what structure they’re using. Did they drop you into the middle of the action, or did they use a strict chronology of events? What is the theme of each chapter, what did the chapter teach the author (and teach you about their journey)?
Next Steps
So what are the next steps for my memoir? I’m just writing my rough first draft and will then figure out the type of chronological approach I want to take.
If you’re on the same path, and want to write your memoir and are looking for some inspiration (or can provide some inspiration), please join in the conversation in the comments section below and lets get our memoirs written.
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