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Dec 11, 2017 · Should you write a memoir, or write a novel "based on a true story"? Here, Joan Jackson offers four advantages to fictionlizing the truth.
- Joan Jackson
Here are four steps on how to write a book that's based on a true story: 1. Remove Yourself From the Story. Nine times out of ten, you, the writer, are probably not the best person to include in the story. (Obviously memoir will be an exception to this rule.)
Here are a few tips about structuring and writing your memoir to get you well on your way to perfecting your story. Word Count. Memoirs can vary quite a bit in length. Anywhere from 40K to 75K words is standard, meaning you have a lot of room to explore how much detail you want to share.
- I, uh, made up some things. A memoir must be essentially nonfiction: That’s your pact with the reader, who is mesmerized by the fact that this really happened to you.
- I like my family and want them to continue talking to me. You can change the names and disguise the identities of some people, but obviously you can’t say, “My father, I’ll call him ‘Ned’ …” Family members will be caught in the flare of your flashbulb no matter what you call them.
- I am uncomfortable relying on my memory. Anna Quindlen, a former New York Times reporter, and columnist, opted for fiction over memoir when she began writing books.
- The events I’m writing about didn’t happen to me. By definition, a memoir is a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation.
6 days ago · To write a good memoir, you’ll need to figure out which parts of your life are most important to the story your telling, organize them, and then write them in a structured way that is entertaining and egaging to readers from start to finish, just like you would a novel. Yep. Unfortunately, there is no way around solid writing, even when you ...
In this article, I define how to write a book based on a true story, share a process you can follow for your next novel, as well as include different aspects to note before taking your book to print. And of course, I end with real examples!
Aug 9, 2021 · Using your life as a source for a fictional novel is a great way to turn your own stories into something new and resonant. Retelling and adapting true stories is a time-tested method that many great fiction writers use to produce iconic fictional stories.
