This for me is the hardest part of writing a memoir. I've heard agents say that the biggest problem they see with memoirs is a lack of coherence and a lack of a good theme. As I put together my memoir from my diary entries, I am having problems making sense of it all, too. I feel like I'm supposed to have brilliant insights about the human condition or something, and my mind draws nothing but blanks.
I have a basic plot, but a lot of other stuff happens and I don't know what to include and what to leave out. It all seems equal in importance to me.
I don't want to write just for myself, I want to make a book out of it that other people enjoy reading.
I'm reading other memoirs and trying to analyze how each one does it. I am hampered by not having an inspirational story of rising above challenges. I have plenty of challenges, but I ultimately lose in the end. I'm trying to figure out how I can write a book like that and still have people want to read it.
Anybody else struggling with a memoir? Please say yes!
I have a basic plot, but a lot of other stuff happens and I don't know what to include and what to leave out. It all seems equal in importance to me.
I don't want to write just for myself, I want to make a book out of it that other people enjoy reading.
I'm reading other memoirs and trying to analyze how each one does it. I am hampered by not having an inspirational story of rising above challenges. I have plenty of challenges, but I ultimately lose in the end. I'm trying to figure out how I can write a book like that and still have people want to read it.
Anybody else struggling with a memoir? Please say yes!