So, how do you write a memoir?

Those of you who follow my blog will have noticed that I have written about a brand new memoir, published today, in fact, called Big in China and written by expat partner Alan Paul. Some of you may think that I must be on his payroll! After all, I have written about his new book three times and this will make a fourth. No, I write about Alan’s book because it is a simply a good example of how to write a memoir.

Every week someone sends me a draft of their memoir. Either they want me to consider publishing it through my imprint, Summertime Publishing, or they want me to mentor them through the writing process. Either way it pains me to share with you that 90 per cent of those memoirs are simply not good enough.  If they followed certain rules they would save themselves time, the heartache of rejection and have a much better chance of success.

So, what are the rules of a good memoir? Let me explain:

​Five Rules for a Fabulous Memoir

1. The story must have SPICE. This stands for Specifics, Place, Incident, Character and Emotion and is what I teach in my Write Your Life Stories program. In a nutshell, writing with SPICE means that you will write the story of your life as if it were a novel – complete with characters and dialogue, plot, pace and a well-set scene.
2. The story must be made up of stories, of incidents that happened to you and that can be recounted in great detail. The stories will be compelling and make the reader want to turn the pages to find out what happened next. If not much happens between the stories then leave out the dull bits, you don’t need them.
3. You need a plot. The reader needs to join you on your journey and will want to be there as you battle with and overcome your challenges. A story with plot often starts with a crisis and that crisis is resolved over time. Ultimately, the ending may not be happy but it should be resolved and satisfying.
4. Your story needs a theme. In Big in China, Alan’s theme is the way he embraced the challenge of being a househusband in a strange country, made friends, explored settled in, and importantly, found himself and a new identity pursuing his passion for music and ended up in ‘the best band in China’.
5. Before you write your own memoir you must read books that are similar to the one you hope to write; you should deconstruct and analyse those books and then, and only then, plan your own.

In order to kick start your research, let me explain what how three recent expat memoirs were constructed:

​Alan’s memoir is a great example of an expat memoir and it covers the four years he lived with his family in Beijing. Other memoirs cover longer periods of time. It is written chronologically. Its theme was discussed earlier in this column. Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Becoming a Star in Beijing 

Niamh Ni Bhroin’s The Singing Warrior covers all 53 years of her life and while it starts at a crisis point when she was 50, it then whizzes back to her childhood and goes on to tell the stories in her life, chronologically, until she reaches the present day, happy and healed.  Her theme is surviving childhood abuse. The Singing Warrior – Finding Happiness After a Life Filled with Pain and Abuse. 

Carolyn Vines’ Black and (A)broad  begins ten years ago when, in the US, her Dutch boyfriend asks her to join him in Holland and she turns him down. The book progresses, telling the story of the following decade and her decision to go to Europe. She uses the flashback technique to tell of the stories that led up to that fateful day. Her theme is the pursuit of identity. Black and Abroad: Traveling Beyond the Limitations of Identity

​If you are serious about writing your memoir, then please ensure your first step is to print and cut out this article and paste it on the wall above your desk.