10 Things I Learned While Writing a Memoir
By Jennifer Niven - June 23, 2009
- You must kiss your pride and dignity goodbye.
- There is no such thing as writing a memoir half-way. You have to jump in with both feet, legs, arms, shoulders, hands, head, and heart.
- Everyone remembers the same event differently.
- It's fun to relive old memories.
- It's agonizing to relive old memories.
- If you have any doubt, change names! Not only to protect the people you're writing about, but yourself.
- It's fine to leave things out. In fact, it's better to leave things out.
- No matter how much they ask, your loved ones don't want to know the things you left out.
- You have to think of yourself in the third person or as another, separate person altogether if you really want to write truthfully for an audience.
- No matter how much they ask for it, never agree to write a sequel.
