Memoir Writing for Dummies

by Van Cleave, Ryan G.

• ISBN13: 9781118414644
• ISBN10: 1118414640
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-03-11
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

The fast and easy way to write your memoir

Memoir writing is a growing phenomenon, and not just by celebrities and politicians. Everyone has a story to tell, and Memoir Writing For Dummies provides hopeful writers with the tools they need to share their life stories with the world and become published authors.

With easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions—along with helpful tips and advice on how to get published—Memoir Writing For Dummies shows you how to put pen to paper and hone the craft of writing a truly compelling memoir. You'll get advice on how to explore your memories, map out your story, perfect your plot, setting, character, and dialogue, and so much more.

• Includes tips on getting over writer's block
• Guides you through every step of the writing and editing processes
• Covers the best ways to market a finished memoir

Packed with proven tips and writing tricks of the trade, Memoir Writing For Dummies gives you everything you need to ensure your life story is never forgotten.

Author Biography

Ryan G. Van Cleave, PhD, is the author of 20 books, including creative writing textbooks, an illustrated humor book, a young adult novel, and a bestselling memoir.?He lives in Sarasota, Florida, where he works as an international speaker, a freelance writer, and the creative writing coordinator for The Ringling College of Art + Design. He has taught memoir writing at numerous universities as well as at prisons, community centers, and urban at-risk youth programs.

Table of Contents

Introduction  1

Part I: The First Steps to Writing a Memoir  7

Chapter 1: The Lowdown on Memoir Writing: Just the Basics 9

Chapter 2: Getting Started: What You Need to Know about Writing Your Memoir 17

Chapter 3: Understanding What Readers Expect: The Story Behind a Good Story 35

Chapter 4: Researching and Remembering: Gathering Enough Material 47

Chapter 5: Developing Ideas like the Pros 61

Part II: Telling Your Story with Pizzazz  75

Chapter 6: Giving Your Story Some Structure77

Chapter 7: Establishing the Setting and Scene 93

Chapter 8: The Character of Characters 111

Chapter 9: Making the Most of Dialogue 129

Chapter 10: Realizing the Power of Voice 153

Chapter 11: Handling Point of View 165

Chapter 12: Bold Beginnings and Fantastic Finishes 179

Part III: Revising, Editing, and Pushing Your Story to the Next Level  193

Chapter 13: Adjusting the Big Picture: Fine-Tuning Structure and Story 195

Chapter 14: Ensuring the Theme and Meaning Are What You Want 207

Chapter 15: Making Revisions 221

Chapter 16: Streamlining Your Story with Sentence-Level Edits 231

Chapter 17: Saying the Unsayable: Knowing What to Include or Exclude 251

Part IV: Sharing Your Story: A Publishing Primer  263

Chapter 18: Locating and Landing a Literary Agent 265

Chapter 19: Making Sense of Traditional Publishing and the Submission Process 281

Chapter 20: Going It Alone: Self-Publishing and E-Publishing 299

Chapter 21: Promoting Your Finished Product (and Yourself) 317

Part V: The Part of Tens  333

Chapter 22: Ten Myths about Memoirs 335

Chapter 23: Ten Reasons Memoirs Are Rejected 341

Chapter 24: Ten Tips to Writing Your First Book 347

Index  353