How to Write a Memoir

Feeling called to share your story? Honouring that urge can be powerful. Start small with a short memoir and these simple tips to help shape your life into words.

Alison WearingMay 11, 2023

What is 'good memoir'?

‘What’s an example of good memoir writing?’ I’m often asked this question, so here goes…

Writing TipsAlison WearingAugust 24, 2022memoir, memoir writing, writing tips, amy award

Cut your work by 1/3

“Sorry this letter is so long. I didn’t have time to write a shorter one”

Alison WearingAugust 16, 2022

Is your memory reliable?

How do we write about something we don’t fully remember?

Writing TipsAlison WearingAugust 2, 2022memoir, memoir writing, writing tips, creative writing

Great Sentences

Every good sentence has something to teach us about writing.

Writing TipsAlison WearingJuly 19, 2022writing tips, memoir writing, creative writing

"I only write when...

“I only write when I’m inspired, so I see to it that I’m inspired every morning at 9 o’clock.”

Writing TipsAlison WearingJuly 5, 2022memoir, memoir writing, writing tips

Memoir Essentials

“Your memoir is about something you know after something you’ve been through.”

Alison WearingJune 21, 2022

Reading Recommendation

I'm still recovering from the body-blow of brilliance that is Sarah Polley’s new memoir, Run Towards the Danger.

Alison WearingJune 7, 2022

Why bother writing?

"The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time." Mary Oliver

Alison WearingMay 24, 2022

Writing Challenge

Write a dialogue about a topic you feel strongly about, an issue or situation about which you know you are ‘right.’

Alison WearingMay 10, 2022

Not ready to write?

We’re not always ready to write the story that lives in us. But we can write our way to readiness.

Alison WearingApril 26, 2022

Reading Recommendation

Birds Art Life is an exquisite meditation on the peaceful beauty that can be found when we devote ourselves to simply noticing. It is also, for anyone looking to write a memoir, a fabulous lesson in structure.

Alison WearingApril 12, 2022

The dangers of books

The word ‘memoir’ is often equated with a book-length work, but it doesn’t need to be. In fact, trying NOT to write a book might actually help you write it.

Alison WearingMarch 29, 2022

Where should you start?

People often get stuck when they try to write their stories from the beginning. But books and stories are virtually never written in the order they appear.

Alison WearingMarch 15, 2022

What will people think?

We can tie ourselves in knots worrying about what other people will think of what we write, but that only keeps us from doing the writing we wish to do.

Alison WearingMarch 1, 2022

Reading Recommendation

If you want to learn how to pen a sad story in such a way that it is a gift to its readers, this is your book.

Alison WearingFebruary 15, 2022

Who is qualified to write?

I'm sometimes asked who "owns" a story and who "gets to write" a story with multiple players, some of whom may not want the story to be written.

Alison WearingFebruary 1, 2022

Write like a Novelist

Memoir writing and fiction writing use many of the same techniques and require similar considerations, questions and investigations.

Alison WearingJanuary 18, 2022

The Most Important Tip

Writers often hover above the books they're reading. We are paying attention to the story itself, of course, but we also have an eye on what the writer is doing and how.

Alison WearingJanuary 4, 2022

Memoir Writing Tips & Tidbits

‘What’s an example of good memoir writing?’ I’m often asked this question, so here goes…

“Sorry this letter is so long. I didn’t have time to write a shorter one”

How do we write about something we don’t fully remember?

Every good sentence has something to teach us about writing.

“I only write when I’m inspired, so I see to it that I’m inspired every morning at 9 o’clock.”

“Your memoir is about something you know after something you’ve been through.”

I'm still recovering from the body-blow of brilliance that is Sarah Polley’s new memoir, Run Towards the Danger.

"The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time." Mary Oliver

Write a dialogue about a topic you feel strongly about, an issue or situation about which you know you are ‘right.’

We’re not always ready to write the story that lives in us. But we can write our way to readiness.

Birds Art Life is an exquisite meditation on the peaceful beauty that can be found when we devote ourselves to simply noticing. It is also, for anyone looking to write a memoir, a fabulous lesson in structure.

The word ‘memoir’ is often equated with a book-length work, but it doesn’t need to be. In fact, trying NOT to write a book might actually help you write it.

People often get stuck when they try to write their stories from the beginning. But books and stories are virtually never written in the order they appear.

We can tie ourselves in knots worrying about what other people will think of what we write, but that only keeps us from doing the writing we wish to do.

If you want to learn how to pen a sad story in such a way that it is a gift to its readers, this is your book.

I'm sometimes asked who "owns" a story and who "gets to write" a story with multiple players, some of whom may not want the story to be written.

Memoir writing and fiction writing use many of the same techniques and require similar considerations, questions and investigations.

Writers often hover above the books they're reading. We are paying attention to the story itself, of course, but we also have an eye on what the writer is doing and how.

Work with Alison