Genre conventions of a memoir

For our extra credit project, I have chosen to do a genre study on memoirs. I have been researching the genre conventions of a memoir and have come up with many considerations to writing in this genre. A memoir is defined as a record of events based on the writer’s own observation. It is a retrospective account of a memorable event. Therefore, a memoir is typically told in first person. The author is always in the story whether it is physically or told from their point of view. A memoir is a subcategory of an autobiography but it differs in the sense that a memoir is about one specific, important event in the author’s life; not a recollection of their life. Likewise, a memoir is less structured than a formal autobiography; the author has a bit more free reign. Many memoirs are stories about the author’s family and friends. It is nonfiction, although I have found some research to say that memoirs can be fictionalized for children's books. A memoir will make you feel something whether it be a happy feeling, sadness, anger, etc. The story will end with the writer explaining why that event is important to them now or how it has changed their life. Another big thing that I thought sounded particularly difficult, yet is an important factor, is that in a memoir the author does not simply tell you how he or she felt about the event; they show you through the actions and conversations of the characters as well as character development throughout the story. One interesting tip I found while researching how to write a memoir was to make a time line of important events that have happened throughout your life. This will be helpful in not only coming up with an event, but then to make a time line of the experiences during that specific event. I have had two very significant events in my life both which have changed my life drastically. One was my parents’ divorce and how it affected my childhood and my belief system today while the other was meeting a boy who set me on the career path I am on right now. I will be writing about one of these two events for my memoir.