Hi Dahris,
Great question!
Lately I've been thinking about the correct terminology for "almost memoirs"--I have a potential client who wrote a book that is 95% true, but some events were combined to keep up the pace of the book. So if it was a TV movie of the week, it would probably be: "Based on a true story" but I'm not sure how that translates to a book genre. It's something I plan to research. A memoir usually explores a period of time or a certain issue within your life, not your whole life from the day you were born until today--that would be an autobiography.

You've done a lot of work writing so many versions of your story. Which one do you like the best? If you're not tied to it being a memoir, then you should just pick the one that tells the story most effectively. When my memoir authors are stuck, I try to suggest other books that handled their problem areas effectively--not to copy the style, but to get inspiration.

As far as going back in your family history, have you ever read the book "Middlesex"? It is fiction, but when I read your question, I thought of that book because it effectively explains family history which is essential to the current plot of the book.

I hope this helps, and if this sparks other questions, please let me know! Anyone else who has input is welcome to join in the responses.

Best,
Lauren

Lauren Hidden
Owner, The Hidden Helpers, Ghostwriting and Editing
http://www.thehiddenhelpers.com
Co-author: Write It Right: The Ground Rules for Self-Editing Like the Pros and Entrepreneurial Freedom: How to Start and Grow a Profitable Virtual Assista

I'm not the fouunder of this group, not am I really an expert, but I am a strong believer in life story writing, especially for seniors, but for others too.

Check out my "other" blog, http://www.seniormemoirs.blogspot.com, my column on http://eGenerations, and look for a lot of other information on the Internet. An interesting "beginners" site, which you probably don't need, is http://www.greatlifestories.com.

Marlys Marshall Styne, author of "Reinventing Myself: Memoirs of a Retired Professor" and "Never too Late!" at www.seniorwriter.blogspot.com

Dahris,

It depends on what YOU want from it. I did my mother's memoir as a start-to-finish true story, but with a lot of her culture as well as experiences from her childhood and WWII, plus added more historical info in the second edition. All meant for family use, BUT also I made it very educational for use in schools. To me that was the best of both worlds. My mother is still alive and so I did have her as a fountain of info.

If the information you story is not strong enough to stand on its own to attract readers, you may want it to be an "autobiographical novel" which is based on truth, and there can be a LOT of truth in those.

So, maybe it really depends on how much of the true family story you know. To me, your version that begins with your funeral is an intriguing way to start the story with you as narrator.

Linda
Cherry Blossoms in Twilight
www.moonbridgebooks.com

Jean Boggio, Author, Publisher
www.jeanboggio.com
www.colerithpress.com

Hi! You might want to check out my websites www.jeanboggio.com and www.colerithpress.com. I did something similar to what you're doing. I found it very difficult to create an even flow from my own life to the family history, and tracing effects of events through my mother's generation and down to my own. I had a lot of help from some of my cousins and my sister, and, many revisions later, I think I have a credible book.

The book will be available from my websites -- probably in February, although the official publication date is June, 2008. After researching the market, I didn't even get involved in tradional or assisted publishing but went straight to forming my own company and I plan to work with other new authors as well as myself (I was a teacher at one point in my life). Please check out my website and you'll get an idea of what I have done. www.jeanboggio.com and www.colerithpress.com.

Good luck.

Hi,

The problem with memoirs stems from the fact your life’s story covers a large scope of themes. The point is: pick a theme that is rich in value for the reader and stick with that. You may not cover your whole life, that’s okay. Write a series of books, if you life’s story is multifaceted. So, what am I talking about? We have all read the many stories of WWII victims, tragedies of misfortune, and escape from tyranny. These topics grip the reader - although, personally, I’m tired of this area. If your life is dull and without any value-added for the reader - just stick to a genealogy and let it go. But most people’s lives have an interesting core, if for no other reason, they grew up in an unfamiliar place, unusual culture, or maybe the family business was unique. If your life was centered around ranching and you rode a horse, participated in live stock round-ups, life reflecting the Old West - there’s your theme. Tell your story, fictionalized or not, as parallel to the Old West, a character from the past, maybe this leads to a gold discovery - who knows, but it will provide a backdrop for the memoir. Stories need to be focused to have something the reader can climb up on and ride. If you bring in a new theme for each area of your life, the story fragments and becomes unwieldy.

John Wolf
Author of Fantastic Tales
"http://johnwolfbooks.com/books"
"http://foxandquill.com"

You may actually have 3 books there. Finish the one as a family story for family. #2 book- Do one as a fictional memoir, using some of the actual incidents and dialogue, changing the names. Add some fictional action and characters. #3 book- Use some of the family characters with fictional names, have them commit mayhem, murder and whatever else sells these days. I am writing my mother's life story, which naturally becomes mine and my siblings and my children's lives. From the other side of the family I am taking the name of one of my relatives from way back, using the family castle as part of the locale, and almost everything else is fictional. That one I hope to publish as a novel. The lifestory will be for family.Good luck.