The Basics and Encouragement of Writing a Memoir or Biography

Writing a memoir or biography of some great person in society is a huge task that should be considered carefully. The first thing to consider is that you should check your motives to find out from your inner core what are the reasons or rationale for wanting to write about the life of this person. A memoir or biography should be written only if you were affected profoundly by the person's life. This is the primary motivation for wanting to write the biography or memoir. In this case even if you are not a professional or experienced writer you can still go ahead to produce the book. You should not be just a source to a professional writer who you will be interviewed about the life of that someone you know.

The world needs people who are just themselves as human beings not some professional. The world needs books written by people who are genuine - people who are writing from the heart instead of a professional writer who will, instead of concentrating on the truth, is concerned with language structure, syntax and morphology of words. A biography or memoir is more about thorough acquaintance with the person being written about than language dynamics.

You must be at absolute sympathy with the subject, and enthusiastically be devoted the project, that is the writing process itself. As no one can interpret a poet without poetic feeling and taste, or a philosopher without speculative talent, so no one can rightly comprehend and exhibit the life of another person without being in sympathy with that person.

So instead of just being a source for information to experienced biographer or memoir writer considers yourself to be up to the task of writing a memoir or biography of that person who you know closely and you know those characteristics that made him or her to be on top of human society.

Your highest and only aim should be, like a witness, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and, like a judge, to do full justice to every person and event which comes under your consideration. Your job is to bring out reality that you know from experience and contact with the person you are writing.

But by all means it comes to planning the project in advance. If you are affected by the life of your subject you will indeed have passion to go through the complex process of planning and outlining the book. Once you have an outline you have the book, because the facts are there around you and from the people who you know can contribute to your book - providing you with their views about your subject.