Memoir tips - research the details

Research the details

Do as much research as possible. It’s not much fun to read a memoir full of patchy memories and vague recollections.

“When I was six, we moved to Doncaster! Or was I five? I think I might have been five.. Anyway... ”

If you can’t remember your own age or checked the dates, then the reader will wonder how much of your stories, you remember well. A memoir is work of non-fiction, so check everything that can be checked.

The internet is a wonderful tool for researching memoirs and you can check family papers and talk to other family and friends who were there at the time. As we grow older our memory does sometimes play little tricks, so it’s important to research as much as possible. Research will also bring back memories and fill in details.

That said it's also an art not to include every little detail of your research in your memoir. See our tip about trimming the fat.


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