Get Your Memoir Unstuck with Rachelle Ramirez
If your memoir has been stuck for years, the problem may be that you haven’t decided what story you’re telling. In this session, developmental editor Rachelle Ramirez uses examples from bestselling memoirs to illustrate how the seven story types apply to the memoir genre. A Q&R session follows the main presentation. Download the Story Types Guide at: https://pagesandplatforms.b-cdn.net/Write%20Anyway%20Summit/WA26/Story-Types-Guide.pdf
00:03 Welcome
03:12 What a memoir is and isn’t: memoir vs. autobiography
13:33 Zero drafts and the six elements of a professional draft
17:19 The seven story types, with example memoirs for each
37:57 One house renovation, four possible story types
40:23 How knowing your story type helps you finish your draft
46:26 Q&A begins
47:37 When your memoir reads like an autobiography
49:07 Writing about real people in your life
54:04 Can you write a memoir without dramatic hardship?
56:26 When your story seems to fit every story type
58:37 Pairing an external and an internal story type
1:01:52 Publishing memoir pieces on Substack first
1:04:32 Writing as processing, and when it may be too soon
1:12:34 Closing advice: be brave in your first draft