Memoir Vs Life Story: Which To Write
This post was written by Robin Storey.
I’m often asked the question, ‘Should I write a memoir or life story?’
What Is A Life Story?Although the two are often used interchangeably, they are not the same.
A life story is, as the name suggests, the story of your whole life, from birth to the present.
It’s also called an autobiography if you write it yourself, or a biography if someone else writes it.
A memoir is about a period of your life – it could be weeks, months or years – in which some event(s) occurred that changed your life.
Or it could cover the expanse of your whole life, but follow a theme, such as relationships or jobs you’ve had or travels you’ve done.
Therefore, only the parts of your life that are relevant to those themes will be included.
I’ve written more about the difference between autobiography and memoir in my blog post Memoir or Autobiography – What’s The Difference?
In it, I also give examples.
Which Should I Write?Knowing the difference between life stories and memoirs may be enough information for you to decide which one you want to write.
But if you’re still wondering, it all depends on your purpose for writing your story.
Are You A Celebrity?If you’re planning to publish your book for the general public to read, a life story may not be the best option.
Readers are usually only interested in reading the autobiographies of celebrities and high-profile people. So unless you’ve had an exceptionally unusual or interesting life and you’re a marketing genius, you probably won’t sell many copies.
But if you don’t care about selling lots of books and you still want to write and publish your life story for the public, by all means, go for it! You could be the exception to the rule.
Most of my life story clients have written their stories just for their family and maybe close friends.
It’s a wonderful legacy for future generations, and if you submit a copy of your book to the National Library of Australia, it becomes a living historical document.
I believe there is a similar process in other countries.
Memoirs are more popular with the general reading public because they are more focused than life stories – they’re usually about a challenge you’ve overcome that has changed you and your life.
Whatever you’re writing about, whether it be an adventure you’ve had or a goal you’ve achieved, there are obstacles along the way you’ve overcome.
If there aren’t, it’s not much of a story. One of the basic building blocks of any story, fact or fiction, is that there must be some sort of conflict, even it’s only internal conflict, that’s usually resolved in some way by the end.
If it’s not resolved, there has been some learning or character development along the way that has made you more able to cope with the conflict/challenge.
Memoirs Are InspiringWe love to read about people who’ve overcome challenges, especially ones we’ve experienced ourselves.
Such memoirs inspire and motivate us.
In my blog post, Why Are Memoirs So Popular? I say, ‘Even when the memoir is not about a topic that is relevant to your situation, you can still find solace in it or be encouraged to take a giant leap into the unknown.’
So if your aim is to publish your story for the general public, a memoir is a better choice than a life story.
Having decided on your topic, you must make sure that your story keeps to the theme.
It’s difficult sometimes, but you must be ruthless in eliminating events and information that aren’t relevant to the topic you’re writing about.
But there’s nothing to stop you writing multiple memoirs about your life, with each one on a different topic.
Many famous authors – for example, Mary Karr and Frank McCourt - have done so.
In this article, Australian author Krissy Kneen discusses writing multiple memoirs.
If you’re thinking of writing your life story or memoir but don’t want to do it yourself, I can help you.
Click on the button below to put in your name and email address, and I’ll reply as soon as possible.
The post Memoir Vs Life Story: Which To Write appeared first on Robin Storey.
