by Jean Sidden

Created on: May 21, 2010

Memoir is the term used to describe a work that is inspired by personal memories. This could be the author's life story, which might include the story of the author's family, or the life story of someone else as told to the author. Many of us who are writing memoirs based on family history do not have personal memories of the events that took place in the past. We are basing much of what we write on family lore, or the stories we've heard through the years.

The stories passed down in families can be like the proverbial fish story, growing throughout time and embellished with a touch of imagination. Sometimes a family member might believe a fiction that began as speculation and with time is taken for truth. Suddenly our family stories become a source of fascination and must be recorded because otherwise no one would believe them.

As family members become older the stories may change again. What we've heard as truth all our lives is altered by an aging memory. Sometimes our elderly will launch into a campaign of legacy building and remove the more interesting parts of their family's stories. As they come nearer to actually meeting their ancestors once more, they decide to clean up so there won't be any offense taken in the Great Beyond.

Uncle Bob, who you once were told ran away from boarding school at the age of fourteen and eloped with the daughter of a well known robber baron, suddenly becomes a straight-laced prude who never gave his family a bit of trouble. The author of the family memoir is now faced with a dilemma. Which is the true account?

An author of family memoir will need to ask themselves whether it makes a difference if the story they write is altogether true or not. As family members age and pass away it becomes less and less dire that we treat the family legacy as sacred. A writer can change all the names and locations and use the family lore as a springboard for good fiction. As writers we honor our families simply because their histories are worth writing about.

Since the writer may not have actually known the characters in the family legend, imagination can be used to fill in each personality. With the skeleton of a story in place, the writer has the freedom to run wild with it. Whether fiction or truth, the family lore can provide rich source material for great writing.

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