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Many of us have stories to tell from our own lives. But, writing a memoir is difficult to master! How to write a powerful self story? Find out with #WomenOnTheMove.
Many of us have stories to tell from our own lives. But writing a memoir is difficult to master! How to write a powerful self story? Find out with #WomenOnTheMove.
Memoir — an odd mixture of biography, storytelling, personal essay, and even a novel — a genre that looks easy on the outside, after all it is a re-telling of your own life’s story. Yet it is extremely difficult to master. The nature of a memoir is a deep personal story of the author; hence, you tend to get carried away by strong emotions, making it difficult to approach with the same level of professionalism as other genres.
Another challenge, when writing a memoir, is to hold and keep the reader’s attention. Writing a memoir also gets tricky because although you are telling your own story, you cannot write in a snarky manner or with a bitter tone. The storytelling needs to be honest and genuine, invite the reader to look at things from your perspective, yet give them enough space to draw their own conclusions.
Have you ever wondered — why writing a memoir is difficult and different from writing other genres?
Last week, on our weekly #WomenOnTheMove chat on Twitter, author of ‘If I had To Tell It Again‘ (http://bit.ly/ifIhadtotellitagain), Gayathri Prabhu joined us and shared what inspired her to write her memoir, how difficult/easy the journey was and did it bother her anytime to share her life’s deepest and most unpleasant experiences. Gayathri Prabhu also shared some writers tips with us.
The memoir is a wonderful space for the intensely personal to become a collective experience. I have felt this in the many emails that I have receive from readers each day. It is always difficult to remember difficult experiences, but thankfully writing is alchemy… — Gayathri Prabhu (@authorgayathri) January 10, 2018
The memoir is a wonderful space for the intensely personal to become a collective experience. I have felt this in the many emails that I have receive from readers each day. It is always difficult to remember difficult experiences, but thankfully writing is alchemy…
— Gayathri Prabhu (@authorgayathri) January 10, 2018
A memoir is a life’s experience where the author stood against the odds, fought it and emerged victorious. A memoir usually is a story of resilience from which others can draw immense inspiration from.
I love memoirs because for me they define strength and resilience. They are inspiring as they teach how to never give up despite it all. #womenonthemove — Privy Trifles (@PrivyTrifles) January 10, 2018
I love memoirs because for me they define strength and resilience. They are inspiring as they teach how to never give up despite it all. #womenonthemove
— Privy Trifles (@PrivyTrifles) January 10, 2018
It is difficult to re-tell an unpleasant experience in our lives. More so because you run the risk of being judged by people who know nothing about you or what you had to go through.
It is hard writing personal stories, after all it’s a piece of you put out in the open for people to judge and you cannot take it back. But then again it how important it is to you to tell the story is what makes writing it easy. #WomenOnTheMove — Jaibala Rao (@JaibalaRao) January 10, 2018
It is hard writing personal stories, after all it’s a piece of you put out in the open for people to judge and you cannot take it back. But then again it how important it is to you to tell the story is what makes writing it easy. #WomenOnTheMove
— Jaibala Rao (@JaibalaRao) January 10, 2018
Your mistakes, your experiences, your grief, your happiness — these what makes you human. If the reader sees this human side, they connect with the story and they connect with you. The story resonates with them and more often than not they feel that somewhere, someone is telling their own story. That’s the power of storytelling.
#WomenOnTheMove I feel memoirs make me more connected to the writer because it is based on his or her life. When difficult situations are being described, I either feel how connected we are in our griefs or I feel grateful to think how small my problems are compared to theirs. — Kasturi Patra (@PatraKasturi) January 10, 2018
#WomenOnTheMove I feel memoirs make me more connected to the writer because it is based on his or her life. When difficult situations are being described, I either feel how connected we are in our griefs or I feel grateful to think how small my problems are compared to theirs.
— Kasturi Patra (@PatraKasturi) January 10, 2018
Certainly! When you know you are dealing with real lives, the way you perceive the book, its characters and the author shift. You feel closer and become more prone to feel their happiness and pain than while reading a fiction. #WomenOnTheMove — Priyanka Baranwal (@AuthorPriyanka) January 10, 2018
Certainly! When you know you are dealing with real lives, the way you perceive the book, its characters and the author shift. You feel closer and become more prone to feel their happiness and pain than while reading a fiction. #WomenOnTheMove
— Priyanka Baranwal (@AuthorPriyanka) January 10, 2018
A3. Reading a memoir takes greater effort. In fiction, one can assure oneself that the unpleasant is made up. In a memoir there is constant awareness that a person has actually lived through it. It takes greater empathy. #WomenOnTheMove https://t.co/nKgAnOxH6V — Vijayalakshmi Harish (@GranthaMaven) January 10, 2018
A3. Reading a memoir takes greater effort. In fiction, one can assure oneself that the unpleasant is made up. In a memoir there is constant awareness that a person has actually lived through it. It takes greater empathy. #WomenOnTheMove https://t.co/nKgAnOxH6V
— Vijayalakshmi Harish (@GranthaMaven) January 10, 2018
When you write a memoir, you invite people to look at your life that might be entirely different from the one they have known so far, and this might upset many.
It has been a very difficult process, not the writing itself, but the decision to publish. To me, the craft of writing is as important as its content. So a literary memoir is not just life but also art. It brings with it several challenges but I am glad I went ahead with it. — Gayathri Prabhu (@authorgayathri) January 10, 2018
It has been a very difficult process, not the writing itself, but the decision to publish. To me, the craft of writing is as important as its content. So a literary memoir is not just life but also art. It brings with it several challenges but I am glad I went ahead with it.
A2. It’s not easy for me, and it takes great courage to share one’s vulnerability with the world. Easier to couch fact within fiction. #WomenOnTheMove https://t.co/XG3Jm6HMgY — Vijayalakshmi Harish (@GranthaMaven) January 10, 2018
A2. It’s not easy for me, and it takes great courage to share one’s vulnerability with the world. Easier to couch fact within fiction. #WomenOnTheMove https://t.co/XG3Jm6HMgY
Although our experiences — good or bad — shape our lives, no one really likes to remember and relive the unpleasant ones. It is but human to completely block out those bad memories and lock them up in the deepest corners of our minds.
One usually blocks out bad memories… it takes courage to share and go through the process… thank you! — Kailashnath Koppikar (@koppik) January 10, 2018
One usually blocks out bad memories… it takes courage to share and go through the process… thank you!
— Kailashnath Koppikar (@koppik) January 10, 2018
Yes, you often run the risk of being criticized and judged for the events, you had little control over. Many fail to understand and empathize with you. But, it is important to remember — this is a story of your life and you did what you thought was best in that situation.
I feel one has to go with one’s conscience. Linda Grey Sexton said that writing a memoir is like entering a room that many people have entered but from a different door – there will always be differences, but one has to follow one’s moral compass as much as one can… — Gayathri Prabhu (@authorgayathri) January 10, 2018
I feel one has to go with one’s conscience. Linda Grey Sexton said that writing a memoir is like entering a room that many people have entered but from a different door – there will always be differences, but one has to follow one’s moral compass as much as one can…
People will judge you for all they can, but it is your story and you need to stand by it.
‘Stand by the book’. A good tip. If I decide to write non-fiction, this will help me to deal with criticism. Constructive criticism, as you said, should be catered #WomenOnTheMove — Priyanka Baranwal (@AuthorPriyanka) January 10, 2018
‘Stand by the book’. A good tip. If I decide to write non-fiction, this will help me to deal with criticism. Constructive criticism, as you said, should be catered #WomenOnTheMove
Acknowledge the positive criticism that will help you get better, and flush out the negative ones that pull you down.
I think it is important to be self-reflexive, to give thought to any criticism, see if it is fair. I have indeed received my fair share of criticism and I have published this book after much thought. I will listen to criticism if it is fair, but I intend to stand by the book 🙂 — Gayathri Prabhu (@authorgayathri) January 10, 2018
I think it is important to be self-reflexive, to give thought to any criticism, see if it is fair. I have indeed received my fair share of criticism and I have published this book after much thought. I will listen to criticism if it is fair, but I intend to stand by the book 🙂
.#WomenOnTheMove. I think all writers should read extensively, and develop a wide palette for all kinds of books. And I think it is important to keep rewriting and redrafting. — Gayathri Prabhu (@authorgayathri) January 10, 2018
.#WomenOnTheMove. I think all writers should read extensively, and develop a wide palette for all kinds of books. And I think it is important to keep rewriting and redrafting.
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