How to Effectively Outline Your Memoir

If you've been following my posts then you have a pretty good idea of what a memoir is, and isn’t. However because the line between a memoir and an autobiography can sometimes blur, let’s clarify:

A memoir is a story about a special moment in your life. It’s the story of a single event, never the story of a lifetime. It’s why a memoir can be a short story of even a thousand words because there’s a single focus or subject.?

An Autobiography is the story of your life. It often starts from birth and spans an entire life. An autobiography can't be a short story, it’s way too long. You can’t fit a whole life into a thousand words unless the subject had a very short life

However, though a memoir has a single focus, outlining it can be a challenge. Because how do you fit this overwhelming, daunting, incredibly significant thing that happened to you into a structured, uncluttered outline??

Well, it can be done and to help, I have come up with ten important sections that should be in your outline.

I know, ten sounds like a lot, but it’s really not as overwhelming as you think. Each section will help you break down your memoir into a simple, comprehensive outline.?

And if you are going to create a smooth flow for your story, you need a structured outline. All right, let’s dive in.

When outlining, your memoir outline should contain: The what, the why, the target reader, the reader’s benefit, the working structure, the themes, the characters, the conflict, the working title, and the key events.

The What

This is the heart of your memoir. When outlining, you should be able to describe your what in a few, clear sentences. Of course, you can make the sentences as many as you want. But I suggest reducing it to a few to give you a clearer focus.

It also helps if you run into a publisher or an agent who breezily asks, “so what’s your memoir about?”

Let’s Use an Example:

Here’s a simple what of a memoir:

• My memoir is about the time I set the oven on fire while baking a cake.

The clearer your what is, the easier it is for you to tell your story. Note that the what of your memoir can run into four or five sentences. The important thing is to keep it short, straightforward, and simple.

The Why

Memoirs are written for all sorts of reasons: popularity, fame, revenge, money, etc. While those things are great, (except for revenge, never write a memoir out of revenge). I think being altruistic is another reason to share your story.

Stories heal. They inspire, change, expose, and teach. If your memoir isn’t going to touch your reader positively, one way or the other, then why are you writing it? Why bare your soul if you don't intend to connect?

Getting down the why of your memoir is very important. The motive for anything is often its driving force. That’s why it’s best to have a positive one.

That said, keep the why of your memoir short, and focused, just like your what. Still using the cake example, the why of your memoir could be:

• You will set a couple of ovens on fire, but if you really want that cake, you can’t stop baking.

The Target Reader

Knowing your target reader not only helps with a better narrative and tone for your book, it also helps with selling your book. People outside of your target market will read your book but, it’s important to write for your people, first.

When writing about your target reader, you should create an avatar for them. A reader avatar is that person who purposely looks out for books like yours. Think of them as the reader waiting to read your type of book.

So, for instance, if you were writing a memoir about pregnancy. Depending on the context, your reader would be women who:

• Have been through childbirth
• Are struggling to get pregnant
• Have new babies.?

Will women outside of this category read your book? Absolutely! But the women who are most likely to read your story are women who feel a connection to it. That’s why it’s important to write your book with your reader in mind.

An audience avatar will also contain things like gender, age, personality, psychological and mental disposition, beliefs, and religion.

I’m not so keen on location because anyone can buy a soft copy of a book online. Also, memoirs break the barrier of location by having a universal theme.

The Reader’s Benefit

The act of writing a memoir is personal and often cathartic but ironically, the end result is about the reader. It doesn't matter how unique your story is, when you take your reader through pages one to the end, what do they stand to gain?

So, before you write your memoir, ask yourself; why am I writing this memoir? What does my reader stand to gain from reading my story? Is there a lesson to be learned? Is there a truth to be shared or a lie to be exposed?

It’s why you shouldn't write your story out of revenge or self-pity. Readers can tell when you are making a story all about you, in the wrong way. Even when that story is all about you, you have to make it worth your reader’s time.

So, using the cake example, you could say, readers who read this will:

• Learn how to bake a cake.
• How not to set the oven on fire when they are baking their cakes.
• Learn the courage to keep baking even when the oven’s been set on fire.

It’s important to outline your reader’s benefit so you can have that in sight when writing.

The Working Structure

A shaky structure will leave your story with plot holes and missing details. While a great structure will pull your story together beautifully. Think of the structure of your memoir as the foundation on which your story is built.

The most common memoir structures are:

• Chronological
• Thematic
• Past versus present.

Each has its benefits and each work according to the context and theme of your story. For example, using the cake story:

• In chronological order, the story would start with you deciding to bake a cake, what led you to bake the cake, baking the cake, the oven catching fire, and the aftermath of the scorched oven.
• In a thematic order, the story would focus on the theme. But a thematic structure works best if there are numerous stories of you trying to bake a cake and failing. This way, your memoir could structure as an anthology.
• Past versus present would show the past of you baking a cake and a present that connects to that. This type of structure often has a chapter rooted in the past (or present), with the next chapter rooted in the present (or past).

This part of the outline doesn’t really come into play until you start to outline each chapter. And really, the best way to choose a structure for your story is to listen to it. I know this sounds cliché, but the story will tell you the way it wants to be told.

The Themes

The beauty of a memoir is the universality of its theme. It means anyone, in any part of the world can pick your memoir and connect to its theme - even if they have never been through what you’ve been through, even if they never meet you.

Stories really do bind us, don’t they?

That’s why you really need to consider your memoir before you write it. You need to make sure your theme is not limited to you and the circle of people who know you.

A limited theme not only makes your memoir sound pretentious and self-absorbed, but it makes it much harder to sell.

So using the cake story, we could say the themes of that are;

• Perseverance: she kept baking even when she set the oven on fire.
• Self-awareness; baking that cake showed her what kind of person and baker she was.

A memoir rarely has one theme and you know what’s really beautiful about that? Your reader could finish your memoir and come up with themes you weren’t even aware of.

The Characters

You are the main character in your memoir, but the supporting characters are just as important. Not only because they help the reader know more about you, but because a character could sue you if they don’t like how they are presented.

So, while memoirs have a narrative and writing style that is very similar to fiction, remember that your story and characters are not. Therefore you have to treat them with care and respect.?

That said before you write your memoir you need to sit down and decide who will make it into your story and who won’t. Every character in your memoir is vital because they help push the story, even if they only appear once.

Your memoir should have:

• The main character - you.
• Antagonist.
• Supporting characters?
• Minor supporting characters.

It’s important to know these characters and outline their duties and actions before you begin writing

The Conflict

Ah, this is the bone of contention. It’s the reason why we have a story. Every riveting story has a worthy conflict, it’s what drives the plot and keeps the reader glued to their seat.?

A good conflict will have the reader flipping the page and asking, exciting questions. And believe me, that's exactly what you want.

Conflicts are divided into:

• External conflict?
• Internal conflict

An external conflict is the kind that has the protagonist against a person, an issue, society, or the world.

Internal conflict is well, internal. It’s often the protagonist against themselves. It’s always emotional or psychological.?

So, using the cake story;

• An external conflict would be - you really wanted to bake but didn’t know how to work the oven because your mom never taught you.
• An internal conflict would be you didn’t believe in yourself enough to bake a cake.

A memoir can have both types of conflicts, so don’t be afraid to dig deep.

The Key Events

Think of the key events of your story as actions that revolve around the conflict and lead up to the climax of the story. Every event in your story doesn't have to be big or earth-shattering. They can be small but significant events.

Often, it’s possible you won’t think of an event as key, or significant until you begin to outline your memoir. Seemingly small actions can be overlooked, it’s why writing a memoir involves a lot of soul-searching

When listing the key events for your memoir, take your time. Don’t try to rush it or make it sound more interesting - write it as is. Seemingly boring events can sometimes turn out to be the most significant.

Also, it’s important to divide your key events into:

• Big key events
• Small key events

You may decide to move some events up or down, depending on how your story starts to shape up.

Also, listing the key events in your memoir will help you decide which events your story needs, and which will distract from the story or bog it down.

The Working Title

What’s in a name? Everything. A compelling name will naturally intrigue the reader. However, don’t get bogged down on the title while outlining. The odds of you changing the title of your memoir when you are done writing is high.

So, pick a title that fits the general idea of your memoir and work with that. And remember, sometimes, the best titles can be found in the story itself.

Hi! I’m Ezinne Njoku; Ghostwriter of unforgettable memoirs. If you need help ghostwriting your memoir, reviewing your memoir manuscript, or breaking it into a compelling structure.

Send me a DM!

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