How to Make Your Memoir Writing Unique

Memoir writing is challenging for many reasons. One issue which can daunt you right from the start is the issue of subject matter. What can you do to make your memoir writing stand out from works which explore similar topics? This article, based on my own experience with memoir writing and on works by other authors, will tell you how to make your personal story "pop."

Make Your Memoir Writing Unique, #1:

Don't Worry That Your Life Isn't Weird Enough.

Say you want to start a piece of memoir writing which discusses your dysfunctional family of origin. You might think, "Why should I bother with memoir writing? Who's going to care about my dysfunctional family? Who can claim that they grew up in the perfect family?"

It's true - every family has some level of dysfunction, some dark secrets, some difficulties that never get resolved. Many who want to try memoir writing feel that if their family wasn't the most disturbed or challenged clan in recorded history, there's no point in writing about them. If you weren't adopted by your mother's psychiatrist (Running With Scissors), or if you didn't grow up in an Irish slum (Angela's Ashes), or if your father didn't pressure you into an incestuous relationship when you were 20 (The Kiss), why even begin a piece of memoir writing about your family?

It's undeniable that some people read memoir writing purely for the lurid or bizarre details of the author's life. But many more people read memoir writing for other reasons (more on these below). The strangest stories are not necessarily the most interesting, and they're rarely the most illuminating. Every family, and every life, has enough drama to make memoir writing compelling.

Make Your Memoir Writing Unique, #2:

Give an Old Story a New Twist.