Memoir Writing & Memoir Examples

The biographer’s task can be overwhelming. Here’s how one biographer learned to breathe new life into her subject.

by Marion Elizabeth Rodgers Read more

The authors of two explosive memoirs talk about the fears that held them back—and why they wrote their books anyway. Could telling your own story be the corrective you need, too? Read more

Telling your life story is big business these days. Edrienne L. Kittredge shares seven tips for deciding whether the skeleton in your closet needs to be shared with the world. Read more

Creative exercises to keep your writing sharp, exerpted from Writing Creative Nonfiction. Read more

“This is not joy. This is not pleasure. Writing is work, and the most difficult work is inhabiting someone who is not you.” Read more

Tips from Frank McCourt, Mimi Schwartz and others on how to look at your story, how to make it significant. Read more

Augusten Burroughs wrote through his life as an abandoned child, high school dropout and alcoholic—and somehow found sanity, sobriety and success along the way. Read more

“I frankly think that whenever a form looks exhausted, that’s exactly the point at which you should swoop in and pry it apart and see what makes it tick.” Read more

It takes a lot more than writing your heart on the page to sell a book. Here are three lessons in perseverance one writer learned the hard way. Read more

Writing about personal experiences presents special challenges. Here”s one of several tips from Bill Roorbach, author of Writing Life Stories: “Vague references hurt your writing. Find uses of recently, and references to generic objects and anonymous people, then get specific. When did it happen? What year and model was that car? Uncover the name of your mysterious neighbor. This sounds elementary, but even expert writers catch the Read more

Writing a memoir can be a challenging experience. Writer”s Digest offers some helpful suggestions to make the process a little easier. Read more

Capture your family stories in writing using these eight tips. Read more

by Susan Carol Hauser, author of You Can Write a Memoir Read more

It’s the extraordinary story that interests readers. But it’s how you present it that hooks them. Read more