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Memoir: Writing About What Matters
by Lesley Roessing
We write for many reasons—to entertain, to inform, to persuade, to enlighten, to show what we learned, to find out what we know. But the most important reason adolescents can write is to discover who they are and to reflect on the people, places, items, and events that made them the persons they are and the adults they will become. In other words, memoir writing. As writers learn about themselves while “researching” and writing their memoirs, memoir writing becomes inquiry. And memoir writing becomes a journey of self-discovery.
Why Teach Memoir Writing?
Writers become better writers by writing. Memoir entices students, especially reluctant writers, to write. All children, most especially adolescents, like to write about themselves. Through memoir writing, writers can learn strategies that will transfer to all writing.
Memoir writing leads to more meaningful writing. Teachers need to coach developing writers to discover and craft their personal stories to impart the joy and power of writing. Quality of writing improves when
writers write about what they know, what they have experienced. Memoir writing, specifically, induces students to write more, write better, and write more willingly and meaningfully.
Affectively, memoir writing compels writers to reflect. The difference between memoir and autobiography is that memoir includes reflection. I tell my writers that the “R” in memoir stands for reflection. In short, memoir = memories + reflection.
Reflection induces writers to think about the story behind the story and possibly the story that will come after the story. That deliberation causes the writer to ask critical questions. What did this small moment mean to my life? How did this event, person, place, or memento influence or change me? How did it contribute to the person I am today and the adult I will become?
Academically, memoir provides a bridge between narrative and informative writing. Memoir, which is essentially creative or narrative nonfiction, is that perfect connection between the two modes. As writers search for information from their pasts, they are employing experiential knowledge as the basis for their “research.” Many times writers see no connection between narrative and informative writing. They are frequently taught in entirely different manners, and writers tend to lose their voices as they make the change.