First, read some memoirs. Go to your local library and see what they've got on the shelves. Memoirs are sometimes catalogued under Biography and sometimes not. I've found them in all sorts of places in my local library so it's probably best to ask. They could be shelved according to the subject matter, or whether the author is local, or even under fiction!
You could start by reading a memoir which covers a theme similar to your own life. So, if you're a farmer or a blacksmith or an understaker then look for true-life stories about those areas if you can find them. In my case, as a former teacher, I read a few memoirs relating to education. if you can't find any in the library try second-hand bookshops or browse online.
However, it isn't essential that you read memoirs written by someone who has life experiences similar to your own. A more important consideration is that you read something good: there are some great memoirs out there and other which, well, you wonder how they ever became published. Find something well-written, compelling, soundly structured and which draws you in to the writer's life. In my case it was the James Herriot books which first showed me what a good memoir looks like. Read three or four by different authors and try to identify what makes them work. It's best to avoid celebrity memoirs.
One of the conclusions you'll reach when looking into that last question is that a memoir writer needs good source material. There has to be a story to tell: first the overall life-story telling the author's journey; and secondly, there are the anecdotes, the scenes and episodes which add colour, portray the characters and envelop the reader so that he or she feels that the writer is almost a close friend. This leads us onto the second starting point before you begin writing your memoir: gather your source material.
What to I mean by this? Well, it means listing the major episodes which you want to include in the book and then also assembling other elements which will add colour and detail. You need a cast of principal characters, as in a novel, and you need stories about them: anecdotes, sayings, habits, descriptions, memories. At first you might just jot these down on scraps of paper as you trawl your memory, so have a good folder to keep them in, but also carry a notebook whenever possible - you don't know when precious thoughts might pop into your noggin.
Note I haven't mentioned a plan or structure at this stage. That will come later: first you need to brainstorm, to empty the dusty cupboards of your mind, to talk to family and friends, to trawl boxes of old letters, to dig out those ancient diaries or photo albums and to walk back through your own life reminding yourself who you are and what you've done in the past. Think about these questions:
- Who influenced you?
- What was your childhood like and why?
- Which events shaped your life?
- What mistakes and good decisions did you make?
In my own case, when I began to start this process and gathered the material which would eventually be shaped into my memoir All Teachers Great and Small, I looked back at my career in the classroom, randomly noting down memories and listing those individuals - in my case children, colleagues and parents - who came to mind as memorable in some way, either good or bad. You'll find that this is an exponential process and I soon noticed that recalling past episodes jolted recollections of other events. Photographs and pupils' work which I kept were another great source of material.
These two vital starting points cannot be hurried. You need to read several books and study their structures, and you must spend plenty of time researching your own past, gathering events, people, episodes, ideas, memories and more. My next blog entry will be about the first stages of planning: deciding what to do with your notes.
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