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Your Memoir: 4 Things Not Include and 1 Thing Not to Leave Out!
“The writer of any work, and particularly any nonfiction work, must decide two crucial points: what to put in and what to leave out…” Annie Dillard, author of An American Childhood.
But how do you know what to put in and what to leave out, especially when you’re so close to your story?
Following are a few guidelines:
DO Leave Out:
1. Everything
To quote Annie Dillard again,
“You have to take pains in a memoir not to hang on to the reader’s arm, like a drunk, and say, “And then I did this and it was so interesting.”
As fascinating as a story or anecdote may be, you can’t throw everything into your memoir. Notice if you’re veering away from what is essential to your story, and ask yourself how each passage or chapter adds richness, depth, or important information. Like a novel, a memoir has a theme, a plot, and a specific focus. However, contrary to the venerable writing advice to “kill your darlings” — you do not have to kill all your darlings, just the ones that are running around unattached.
2. Something that makes you deeply uncomfortable
Someone who read an early draft of my memoir, remarked, “I have the feeling that there was more…
