How To Structure Your Memoir

I’ve mentioned before that memoirs are not necessarily chronological, unlike autobiographies. That’s because memoirs are typically written about a particular theme in your life instead of following your life story from the cradle to the grave. 

Writing a memoir requires thinking about how you plan to structure your story. This is why an autobiography can seem much more straightforward. The typical structure for most autobiographies is chronological. However, with a memoir, you have a lot more creative freedom. 

I was discussing this with my mom a couple of weeks ago because my parents are in the process of recording their life’s adventures. My mom asked me which stories to include and which ones to leave out.

Although this probably wasn’t the answer she was looking for, the easiest way to know which stories to include in your memoir is by deciding on a theme.

Deciding on your theme is critical because it will help determine your story’s structure. Some common themes include personal development (coming of age or spiritual rebirth), overcoming hardship (rags to riches), or travelling with your family or as a couple.

This may come as a surprise, but you could write an entire memoir on learning how to cook and bake from scratch. A memoir like this would be based on the recipes passed down to you. Each recipe would be its own story and include the who, what, where and when of how you learned the recipe and why it is so meaningful to you. 

Similarly, you could write a memoir based on any other skill you’ve acquired in your lifetime, how you’ve developed those skills, and whether you’ve passed them on to your kids or grandchildren. 

For example, if music has been an essential theme in your life, you could base a memoir on learning to play a musical instrument. Who taught you how to play, where you performed, and who you met along the way. Did you play for your unborn baby or for your kids as they were growing up? What memories come up when you think about playing music for your family?

And, in the case of the adventurous couple, you could write a memoir about your travel stories and how those experiences shaped you into who you are today.

If you’re still unclear on what I mean by structure, consider your favourite books and movies. Most stories begin with an introduction to the main characters, an incident (the characters face a conflict or challenge), that incident motivating them to act (to resolve the conflict or take on the challenge), a pivotal moment (known as a story climax), and a conclusion.

Story structure is inherent to storytelling, so it’s there whether you intentionally structure your stories or not. However, when writing a memoir, which is a collection of your life stories, you must also consider readability. This means there needs to be a plan or a flow to your writing that leads the reader from one story to the next. And that requires an overarching structure for your book based on a theme.

Again, it doesn’t have to be overcomplicated; your memoir theme could simply be that you have always found a way or figured it out when faced with life’s challenges. Therefore, your memoir—the collection of stories you choose to include—will provide the reader with evidence of this.

Feel free to schedule a call with me if you want help structuring your story or deciding on a theme.