Memoir
Mark Kurlansky: On Coincidences Driving Memoir
Award-winning author, playwright, and journalist Mark Kurlansky discusses the experience of channeling Ernest Hemingway in his new memoir, The Importance of Not Being Ernest.
Telling My Story: How to Work Through Painful Feelings While Writing a Memoir
When revisiting your past means unearthing painful memories, it’s important to find solitude somewhere. Here, author Laura L. Engel discusses how to work through painful feelings while writing a memoir.
Florence Olajide: On Perseverance and Persistence Through Memoir
Florence Olajide discusses how the persistence from others led her to writing her new memoir, Coconut.
Memoir as Detective Novel
Every memoir requires searching for the truth of the story. Lilly Dancyger, author of the memoir Negative Space, shows how this hunt can serve as the structure of the narrative.
How I Wrote My Memoir and Lost My Memories
A spotty memory made writing her memoir a 10-year process, and in the end, Laura Davis' remembrance is part literary and part reality. Here, the nonfiction writer describes how she wrote her memoir and lost her memories.
The Differences in Writing a Memoir vs. a Novel
Where fiction writing is about concealing emotional truth for interpretation, memoir is about exposing it for what it is. Writer Jenna Blum discusses the differences she experienced in writing a memoir vs. a novel.
Laura Davis: On the Story That Begged To Be Told
Author and writing instructor Laura Davis discusses the process of starting, stopping, and starting again with her new memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars.
Bobby and Cheryl Love: On the Power of Telling Your Own Story
Bobby and Cheryl Love discusses the process of writing coauthoring their memoir, The Redemption Of Bobby Love: A Story of Faith, Family, and Justice.
3 Tips for Writing a Memoir Everyone Wants to Read
A memoir is an open window into another's life—and although the truth is of paramount importance, so too is grabbing hold of its reader. Writer Tasha Keeble offers 3 tips for writing a memoir everyone will want to read.
Bruce McCandless III: On Remembering His Father Through Memoir
Bruce McCandless III discusses how he finished what his father started in his new memoir, Wonders All Around.
Marilyn Peterson Haus: On Battling Feelings of Disloyalty When Writing Memoir
Debut author Marilyn Peterson Haus discusses the surprises that came with writing her memoir, including struggling with feelings of disloyalty to her family while writing.
Brian Broome: On Letting Other Genres Inspire You
In this article, author Brian Broome explains how a Gwendolyn Brooks poem inspired him to write his memoir Punch Me Up to the Gods.
How to Approach Friends and Family About Your Memoir
No one can decide whether showing your memoir to loved ones before it goes to press is the right choice for you. However, if you're planning to approach your friends and family about it, let memoirist Ronit Plank give you 3 tips for doing so.
Negative Space: An Interview With Lilly Dancyger
Catapult and Barrelhouse Books editor Lilly Dancyger talks about her debut memoir Negative Space.
Writer’s Digest Columns: How to Write a Five-Minute Memoir
Want to write for WD? Here are editor tips on how to submit to one of our most popular columns, 5-Minute Memoir.
Arisa White: Putting the Pieces Together
In this post, Arisa White shares how she was able to piece together her past with her present, how some works freed her to write, and more!
Mark Henick: On Memory, Healing, and Languishing Projects
Author Mark Henick shares how he was able to turn a successful TEDx talk into a memoir, even when the project didn't come as quickly as he expected.
Telling Our Family Stories: 4 Reasons Why It’s More Important Than Ever to Write Our Family Narratives
Nonfiction author Mary Beth Sammons explores the questions that cause us to learn more about our ancestries and what we learn about ourselves and each other when we do so.
When a Memoir Is a Novel: The Thin Line Between Fabricated Fact and Real Fiction
Author Heidi McCrary digs into when a memoir is a novel (or at least, when it should be a novel) and examines the thin line between fabricated fact and real fiction by looking at her own novel, Chasing North Star.
Lee Gutkind: The Godfather Behind Creative Nonfiction Takes on Memoir for the First Time
Dubbed the "Godfather behind creative nonfiction" by Vanity Fair Magazine, Lee Gutkind shares his first experience with memoir, what makes it different than his previous books, what writers can't take back, and more!
Karol Hoeffner: Writing Stories When They're Ready to Blossom
Novelist and screenwriter Karol Hoeffner shares what inspired her latest novel (Knee Deep), what surprised her the most in writing it, her best piece of advice for other writers who may be feeling writer's block during the pandemic, and more!
Jax Miller: Switching From Fiction to True Crime
In this post, Miller shares what inspired her to switch writing genres (from fiction to true crime), move to Oklahoma, sit with convicted murderers and in meth labs, and more!
Author Spotlight: Heather Lanier on Raising a Rare Girl
In this author spotlight, Heather Lanier shares how her blog posts put her on the path to publication success with a new book, Raising a Rare Girl.
Your Own Worst Enemy: Writing Villains in Memoir
Writing villains in memoir takes a special kind of honesty. In this feature from the July/August 2019 issue of Writer's Digest, William Kenower offers his take.