Question About Writing a Memoir

I think writing a memoir can be one of the most challenging pieces of writing. I think the memories of your play time are meaningful to you and something you remember in a positive light, but I'm not sure if it's enough conflict. If it had a direct impact on your life, you could twist it that direction. Like, did you know from such a young age that you wanted to be a teacher and then spend your life achieving that goal? Instead of going for a memory that you like and brings you warm fuzzy feelings, are there memories of your childhood that are difficult to think and write about? Breaking through the difficulty of those might make for a more compelling story.

Is this for a college class?

I have to wonder how many people have enough to write a memoir about at college age....

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I disagree with this necessity of conflict. Unless you're trying to tell a DRAMATIC story, you don't need "conflict."

You do, however, need a "point."

Simply telling this story (by the way, I think it sounds fascinating!)... isn't enough. Try to make sense out of these (day)dreams and fantasies you had. You don't have to have all the answers... Don't try to make it a sitcom that ties up in a neat little bow at the end.

Describe your story in detail. Start with your "real life" situation at the time you began to fantasize about teaching. Describe the fantasies in detail. Tell us how they made you feel. How you felt about your "real life." Offer up suggestions on why you might have felt the need to "make believe." And let us know what you're doing now, and how these fantasies affected your life today. Did you act on them. If so, why? If not, why not? How do you feel about them today? Are you a different person now? Do you regret them or embrace them?

(this is all food for thought)

But I think it's an excellent idea for a short "memoir." Just take us back in time with you.

And leave the "conflict" for dramatic narratives.

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