Ditch the recipes and write from your gut in memoir

Recipes give us a list of ingredients to cook with, recipes for memoir writing do the same. But when we write from our gut, we produce exceptional work. Ditch the recipes and follow your gut!

WHAT IS IN YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE CUPBOARD?

Your cupboard of personal life experiences is as unique as your fingerprints. It follows then that a one-size-fits-all approach to a memoir won’t be fitting. As when you cook creatively, substituting certain ingredients in the recipe with what is available, you will create your memoir or life-story.

Think Masterchef! When we want to serve up a delicious meal, we carefully consider flavour, smell, contrast, colour, texture. A life-story works the same way. Our ingredients all differ.

Your writing voice is your tool in creating your unique, authentic story.

Find that voice.

Find those gut-wrenching moments, like Tannie Maria in Recipes for Love and Murder: “‘I messed up,’ I said to the cake. ‘If he had a taste of you, he would have agreed to anything I asked.’ I licked a piece of rum-and-chocolate icing off my finger. ‘Anything.’” Sally Andrews

RECIPE FOR WRITING A MEMOIR (A TYPICAL NICHE TEMPLATE)

1. Memoir message: Why do authors write memoirs?
2. Memoir theme: What will your memoir be about?
3. Lay out the most exciting stories and events in your memoir.
4. What do you expect from your powerful memoir?
5. What are your boundaries when telling a story?
6. List characters, stories, and events by chapter.
7. Draft titles.

A WRITE-BY-NUMBERS APPROACH

Consider the above guidelines. There is nothing wrong with researching the topic of memoirs and life-stories thoroughly before you attempt to write your own. But once you start, you want to stand out from the rest.  

CHOOSE AN APPROACH WHICH WORKS FOR YOU

Some of us write with a clear structure outline and an analytical approach. Some of us write with a wild and wonderful sense of freedom and abandonment.

Have you noticed how, at paint nights, twenty people can paint/copy the same object and each person`s masterpiece will look different at the end of the night? When we write, the same magic happens.

Choose the approach which works for you and do not feel discouraged or disheartened if you change up the recipe to create an entirely new one.

HOW DO I HONE MY CRAFT?

Read as much and as wide as you can. Write every day. Make time to get active and out into nature to loosen your rusty thoughts and memories. Consider your passions and challenges. Be introspective. Be yourself and write like you speak, because in that way your story is authentic.

The editing process will deal with inconsistencies and language errors when the time comes for the formal reviewing of your manuscript.

WHO WILL JUDGE AND APPRECIATE YOUR MEMOIR WRITING?

Your reader is the ultimate judge of your work. Entice them, amaze them, woe them and disarm them. Let them taste the richness of your world. Make them want to devour and experience more of your extraordinary story, chapter by chapter.

DITCH THE RECIPES AND WRITE FROM YOUR GUT IN MEMOIR

When we follow the Nike approach of “Just do it”, we achieve success. As we dance to the tune of our inner being and conviction, we live authentically. When we cook with abandon, we create exciting dishes.

When we write from our gut, we produce exceptional work. If you doubt yourself, and need to discuss your writing goals, remember that, as an author coach, I can assist you!