How does memoir differ from autobiography

Offline Nicholas Cole in reply to Dr. Simon Gibson. Met you this morning briefly and just bought your book on Amazon. Up 0 Down Reply More Cancel. Offline James Courtman. Very helpful. I think I am heading down the path of a memoir. Offline Dr.

Carol Jaxson-Jager. Thank you explaining the differences between the three writing styles! Very useful article. Anyone who says otherwise is an elitist prick. A Whole Life vs.

That means that you should always keep your readers in mind when you write a book. Chronological Order vs. Moving Back-and-Forth These just get dumber and dumber.

Nobody knows! Facts vs. Emotional Experience Whoever decided that an autobiography contains facts while a memoir focuses on emotional truths is full of crap. That might sound a tiny bit logical until you actually start to think about it.

They were born here. They grew up there. However, the format has been laid out by biographies, and autobiographies need to follow that format. A memoir, on the other hand, is not a narrative. It is a collection of memories from the person who wrote it. It does not have to go in chronological order. The autobiographies that sell best tend to be written by celebrities or people who have become famous for other reasons, since people are more likely to read a fact-based account about someone they know or care about.

A memoir, on the other hand, can become a best-seller no matter who writes it, because the point of a memoir is to capture something very personal and show it to the world. The memoir, free from dry details and facts, is more likely to capture the interest of an audience if it is written well enough. If a self-written account jumps around in order, but has the detail of an autobiography, then it can be difficult to figure out which one it belongs to.

That story might be described as either. This post doesn't have any comment. Be the first one! Share Tw. Go to Top Back to Blog Search. This is a modern website which will require Javascript to work. Please turn it on! Presents information collected from the subject, their acquaintances, or from other sources. Written to inform and explain the motivation and thoughts behind actions and decisions.