Memoir Writing
An author needs to incite the reader to read on and to satisfy their attention. One of the best ways to do this is to speak directly to the audience as if in conversation. While autobiography covers a whole lifetime, memoir does not give an entire lifespan but concentrates on a particular memory or set of incidents. Like an expert photographer, the author needs to focus, not only on wide-angle shots but on close-up shots. Memoirs should include physical detail, dialogue and ideas. Convey the most evocative smell, sound, sight, taste and touch you can recall as a child. Write about your earliest memories of your mother’s touch, the fragrance of her perfume, the way she wipes your tears, the tone of her voice or the way she flicks her hair back. Readers need to feel a sense of involvement.
Let the reader get to know the protagonist from the inside as well as from the outside through the character’s thoughts and processes of thought – their opinions, prejudices and judgements. Characters must react with each other and the world. If we never get to see how the character behaves in action and dialogue, we don’t get to know them properly. A character’s rhythm may sometimes be harmonious and sometimes discordant, according to circumstances. In short, we get to know our character through the style and arrangement of the author’s words and their rhythm. Memoir weaves together the personal and the collective, and shows contrasting perspectives and differences between groups. Unless the author uses detail and a sense of perspective, it will be difficult to convince readers of the truth of their story. Investigate one particular issue that affected you personally and relate it.
Finally memoirs should have a core message or theme.
The theme running throughout my story, Heaven Tempers the Wind. Story of a War Child is hope. The core message is war and its effects on the population, especially on children. Published by Armour Books, it will be available in all good bookstores. Many will be fascinated by the culture and characteristics of the various levels of society in pre-war Burma. Women, in particular will emphasise with the suffering of the family, and men will be drawn to the war scenes and the description of Britain’s longest retreat in history
