One of the most interesting and powerful literary devices is memory-writing, or auto-biography as it is sometimes referred to. Memories can be creative and articulate. Furthermore, they can encapsulate a person’s entire life. Many great writers and storytellers have drawn upon these concepts in their work. If you are looking to write creatively about your life, you should try out auto-biography or memoir writing. In this article, we will discuss some of the techniques that you can use to make the most of your memories and turn them into an artistic piece of writing.
The Hook
Before you start throwing together your memories in a haphazard way, it’s a good idea to set up a framework. This framework should be designed to draw the reader in and make them want to continue reading. It can be as simple as ‘I was born on a Sunday…’ or ‘I had parents who…’ or ‘I always dreamed of traveling to Italy…’ These kinds of hooks will draw readers into your story and make them feel as if they are a part of your process. You can also use a literary quotation or a brief meditation on a theme that stands for your whole work. For example, if you are writing a crime novel, you could quote a line from an actual detective. For a science-fiction story, you could quote a line from the work of a famous science-fiction author. This is just a small sample of the kind of hooks that you can use. When you write a memoir, you can often find a theme that runs through your entire life. You can use this theme to structure and organize your memories around. For example, you might want to write about your travels in the Middle East. You can start by talking about your time in Jordan, then move on to discuss the different types of desert landscapes you have seen and what made an impression on you. You can use this single theme to structure your entire book. When you stick to a single theme, your writing will become much more cohesive. Memoirs are often very personal and can be incredibly poignant and affecting. The hooks above can be very effective in drawing in an audience and making them feel as if they are a part of what you are writing about. When choosing a theme for your memoir, it is very important to find one that you connect with and can relate to. This connects with your readers and gives the work a greater chance of being successful. Finding the right match for your story can be surprisingly difficult, so don’t rush into any decision. Take time to consider all the angles before making a choice. This should then form the basis for the entire book. Once you have your hook, you can move on to the next step.
The Opening
The opening of your book is very important. It is the first thing that your audience will encounter and it sets the stage for what is to follow. If you are writing a crime novel, the opening should set the scene, briefly talk about the character and their background, and hook the reader into wanting more. A good opening should also have the ring of truth about it. Remember, your audience will be reading this piece of work believing that it is the “truth” as you have remembered it. Therefore, it would be wise to give the opening a “journalistic” edge. This edge can be in the way that you have structured it or in the way that you have presented it. When writing your opening, you should start by establishing the facts of your story. Start with the most basic elements: who, what, when, and where. Make sure that these elements are accurately and clearly presented. These are the essential building blocks of your narrative. Once you have these down, you can start to elaborate and add more texture to your story. Once you have a fairly complete opening, you can move on to the next step.
The Middle
This is where you will be developing your story. It is a good idea to start by jotting down everything that you can think of that happened during the course of your life. This will often lead you to things that you have forgotten about or that were insignificant at the time. However, if you can look back on your life and remember the circumstances and people around you, you can put down a much richer account of your experiences. Sometimes, it can be difficult to know where to start. If you feel that you have forgotten something important, you can always reference back to your opening and the prologue. The prologue is a short passage that you can use to establish yourself as a reliable narrator. If you followed the above advice and set up a solid framework and used a journalistic edge in your opening, then your story should run smoothly and effortlessly from there on in. There will be no dull patches or unexplained sudden jumps in your narrative. It will flow naturally and believably from start to finish. The middle of your story should be a place where all your memories come together. It should be a place where you can elaborate on your theme and bring your characters to life. The middle of your story is essentially where you will be weaving the most intricate and detailed fabric of your narrative. This is also the part where your characters will start to “exist” in their own right. They should start becoming very real to you as you flesh them out more in your mind’s eye. What were their likes and dislikes, their motivations and objectives? Take time to get into your characters’ heads and understand their perspectives. You will often find that something as simple as an event from a very early age can spark off a chain reaction of memories. These reactions can then lead you to uncover more about your character and what they want out of life. The middle of your story is a very organic part of the process and it should not be tampered with. Once you have written the middle, you can move on to the next step.
The Ending
The ending of your story is simply the reflection of your opening. You should bring your story to a close by summarizing what you have established so far. You should also reiterate your opening, making sure that the reader does not forget where they started. The ending can be as simple as a “but then things changed” line. Alternatively, you could elaborate by talking about an event that was the turning point in your character’s life. For instance, you might say that at this point, they decided to go their own way and forge their own path in life. You could also add more texture to your story by showing how this decision shaped the person that they then became. This is an important point to make: your ending should reflect your story; it should be a logical conclusion to the events that you have described. For example, if you are writing about a struggle with addiction, you could use this as a pivot point in your character’s life, as they then made the decision to rid themselves of all their substance-related baggage. Once you have your ending established, you can move on to the next step.
What More Can I Say?
There are many other tips and tricks for writing creatively. Memoirs are often very candid and can highlight uncomfortable truths; this is often what makes them so interesting and powerful. You can use this power of the “uncomfortable” to your advantage. It can be difficult to write about your personal life, but this is what makes it so interesting. The key is not to be afraid to show your true colors, no matter how vulnerable or how revealing these may be. This is what will make your work truly unique and it is something that will draw in devoted readers. It is also important to remain true to yourself; this is the only way that you will be able to keep your creative integrity. You should never be afraid to ask for help when you need it, as this is often the key to progressing successfully as a writer. If this sounds like something that you can utilize, then go ahead and start making your memories creative writing fodder and see where it takes you.