Back to Basics: Do you know where you’re going with your memoir?

 

Your memoir’s ending should be its most powerful part so even while you’re writing your book’s middle parts, begin planning its ending.

 

It might seem strange to work on your conclusion before finishing the main body, but think of this:

 

“If you don’t know where you’re going,

you might not get there.”

Yogi Berra

 

You don’t want that to happen!

 

Here’s what I recommend: Throughout your writing, know approximately where you’re going and build toward that ending. Doing so will help you stay on message and more likely bring everything full circle.

 

Having said that, though, I need to warn you:

 

Many, if not most, stories can take a direction

writers might not have envisioned

at the outset.

 

Don’t worry if that happens to you.

 

After you’ve drafted the bulk of your memoir, your overall message and conclusion might be different than you originally envisioned, but that’s okay.

It’s better to focus on where you think you’ll end up,

rather than to drift, directionless.

 

Here’s a helpful perspective: You probably won’t pin down the perfected version of your ending until you’ve written all your chapters and have identified and refined the conclusions and resources you hope readers will take away from your story.

 

For now, as a general guide for you, get out a piece of paper and answer the following:

• The reason I’m writing my memoir is ________.
• What do I want readers to think as a result of reading my story?
• What do I want people to feel when they’ve finished reading it?
• How do I want them to live because they read my story?
• The most important message I want readers to take away from my memoir is _________.

Keep such points in mind while you write. Then conclude your book in a way that people will long remember it, learn from it, grow from it.

 

Memoirs are so much more than entertainment.

 

Your story matters.

Memoirs guide, influence, encourage,

inspire, motivate, and empower.

They can bring healing.

They can turn lives around.

Memoirs can even save lives.

 

“Write what should not be forgotten.” 

(Isabel Allende)