How to Write a Memoir

What is a memoir?

A memoir is a narrative about your personal experience.

You can write a memoir about:

• A specific event that happened to you.
• A specific aspect of your life (for example, your relationship with your father, your travel through Asia, your struggle to overcome a phobia).
• A particular time period of your life.
• The impact on your own life of an outside event (for example, a war, an economic crisis, your parents' divorce.)

Browse through the list of topics below to get tips and ideas for your memoir writing. And don't forget to enter our current memoir writing competition for the chance to publish your memoir and win prizes!

How to Write a Memoir - Contents

Memoir Writing Competition Our visitors have contributed memoirs about the smells that they associate with important memories. Read their contributions and publish your own!

Heather Sellers on Memoir Writing. An interview with the author of You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know.

What is a Memoir? - Interview with Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett: Part 1.

Journaling and Writing a Memoir - Interview with Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett: Part 2.

Reasons for Writing Memoirs - Interview with Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett: Part 3.

Ethical Issues in Memoir Writing - Interview with Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett: Part 4.

Memoir Writing and Emotional Truth - Interview with Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett: Part 5.

Techniques for How to Write a Memoir Effectively - Interview with Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett: Part 6.

Revising Your Memoir - Interview with Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett: Part 7.

Writing Rosie's Daughters - Interview with Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett: Part 8.

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