Memory Writing.
Most memoirs involve the use of the first-person narrator. If the narrator is reviewing an event from their past then there are two versions of the ‘I’ narrator:
- There is the speaker recollecting the events from the present where they are older and perhaps consumed by regret/joy/ sadness/ guilt etc.
- Then there is the narrator inhabiting the flashback or the story within the framed narrative. This narrator is usually younger and inhabiting a contrasting experience to the framing narrator, subsequently, their experience may be less discerning because of their lack of worldliness. We often look back on younger versions of ourselves and realise how vulnerable and susceptible we might have been to the manipulations of others. Or we realise our understanding was limited and therefore we made mistakes or were unable to appreciate what was taking place.
- Sensory language is very important in memoir writing. If we are recording past experiences then we need to express these events as vividly as possible in order for our readers to become immersed in them. If you use a variety of sensory language then the experiences will have an immediacy and vitality that will render them authentic.
- Ensure that you utilise a powerful vocabulary to recreate the experience. Strong imagery coupled with creative use of structural devices and punctuation enrich your recollection.
- If you feel stuck then begin, ‘I remember when’ and something will be retrieved from the past. Or anchor into a powerful sensory memory so your writing is transported into a different space and time. The sense of smell ( olfactory) can connect us with another time with all its emotional complexity almost instantly. If you love music then songs can also take us into an experience by another route. How many times do we associate certain songs with specific moments in our lives? Using strong sensory anchors allows us access to the associated emotions and this renders the events described vividly.
- Finally, remember to include a pivotal moment or epiphany in your memoir so that something changes through a form of revelation. This revelation can be spiritual, psychological or brutally practical. But some sort of recognition creates a pivotal moment that inspires change and change is essential to storytelling.
