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“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.” — Winston Churchill
Writing Your Truths
One of the challenges of memoir writing is to write the truth. We can get caught up in doubting our truth—wondering if we are correct; what are the “real” facts? What do other people in the family or at the same event say the truth is? Who is right?
A memoir writer is the author of his or her own truth. We can only write about our version of reality, our single experience. Most people I know do not need or want to distort truths for attention or to shock. The memoir writers I meet are too concerned with an “accurate” version of the truth, caught up in hearing more of the inner critic instead of feeling free to write the stories they want to write, the stories that are whispering in their hearts.
Since memoir writing is a process, it is important to sort through the things that get in your way and create room for you to freely write your stories. Writing through some of your questions and blocks will help you to proceed to write with more freedom of expression.
- How do you define truth in memoir writing?
- Write a story that your family would approve of, but which you feel is not the best representation of the truth.
- What parts of your story do you feel you need to change, and why?
- What image or persona of yourself at a certain age do you most identify with, and why?
- What story about yourself would you never tell, except perhaps to your memoir group?
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Christine Prato-Coleman on Sat, 28th Feb 2009 8:49 am
Can I include high profile performers in my memoir if in fact there was a relationship with them. Do I have legal repercussions in doing so? If I change their names, it loses it’s appeal a little bit in addition to it’s marketablity.
Paula on Mon, 6th Apr 2009 3:31 pm
I am really struggling with the topic of “truth”. The basis of my memoir really is the dysfunction of my mother’s concept of weight and “family”. Her attitudes had major repercussions throughout my life. Those experiences, I feel, can be informative and relative to a group of women in today’s society. But the bigger issue for me is possibly upsetting my family with the memoir. Do you have any suggestions outside of publishing the book under a fictitious name?
Linda Joy Myers on Mon, 6th Apr 2009 4:41 pm
Hi Christine,
That is a very good question, and one best resolved through consulting a literary attorney–the expert on issues of legality and truth. If you are writing about famous people, you’re right to be concerned about the legal issues involved. Various legal terms apply to writing your truth about other people–one of them is defamation of character, and the other is libel. Only an attorney is qualified to answer your questions based on how you write about the person, what you reveal, and the extent to which legal issues pertain to the writing itself. Best of luck in getting the answers you need and writing your memoir!
Linda Joy