Why short story memoir?
It can help you skip the overwhelm.
What is a short story memoir?
A short story memoir is one short story about something that happened in your life.
Your goal may be to write stories about your life, but the thought of it can be overwhelming.
With short story memoir, you can skip the overwhelm.
Choose a theme, an event, or a personal accomplishment and start there. Write one story, then another, and before you know it, you'll have a collection. And a collection of stories? Well, then you might have a book.
Why write about your life?
What if my life's not that interesting?
Ask three people what makes an interesting life and you'll get three different answers. While an interesting short story memoir can recount a wild adventure or gut-wrenching life event, that's not what makes it worth reading.
What makes it valuable is your take on what happened and how you tell the story.
The stories you write could be about the pets you've had and what you learned from them, your first job, how you started your business, or what it was like that first and only time you went to summer camp. It's the common experiences, disappointments, successes, and life-affirming joy that people are looking to connect with.
Writing your stories one at a time, just like they happened, allows you to share what you've seen, experienced, and learned without the overwhelm of thinking you need to write an entire book.
If it's interesting to you, chances are it will be interesting to someone else.
What if I don't want to write a book, but still want to write my stories?
Write them! You don't have to write a book. You can write and use your stories in letters, post them on a personal or public blog, put them in a journal, or simply collect them for your own pleasure.
Writing is a rewarding way to revisit and explore the best that you've done, learned, and seen.
What's the difference between an autobiography, a biography, and memoir?
What is a short story memoir?
A short story memoir is one short story about something that happened in your life.
Your goal may be to write stories about your life, but the thought of it can be overwhelming.
With short story memoir, you can skip the overwhelm.
Choose a theme, an event, or a personal accomplishment and start there. Write one story, then another, and before you know it, you'll have a collection. And a collection of stories? Well, then you might have a book.
Why write about your life?
- Write to revisit and capture an experience
- Write to share what you've done and the lessons you learned
- Write because you love to write
- Write because you want to be a better writer
What if my life's not that interesting?
Ask three people what makes an interesting life and you'll get three different answers. While an interesting short story memoir can recount a wild adventure or gut-wrenching life event, that's not what makes it worth reading.
What makes it valuable is your take on what happened and how you tell the story.
The stories you write could be about the pets you've had and what you learned from them, your first job, how you started your business, or what it was like that first and only time you went to summer camp. It's the common experiences, disappointments, successes, and life-affirming joy that people are looking to connect with.
Writing your stories one at a time, just like they happened, allows you to share what you've seen, experienced, and learned without the overwhelm of thinking you need to write an entire book.
If it's interesting to you, chances are it will be interesting to someone else.
What if I don't want to write a book, but still want to write my stories?
Write them! You don't have to write a book. You can write and use your stories in letters, post them on a personal or public blog, put them in a journal, or simply collect them for your own pleasure.
Writing is a rewarding way to revisit and explore the best that you've done, learned, and seen.
What's the difference between an autobiography, a biography, and memoir?
- An autobiography is the story you tell about yourself, from the time you were born to the present.
- A biography is similar to the autobiography, but it's the story of someone's life told by someone other than the subject.
- A memoir focuses on one period or event in your life; not the story of your entire life, but a specific event or period in your life.
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