On this fifth Thursday of the month, I want to feature a quotation from William Zinsser, an accomplished journalist and author of On Writing Well, a book still used to teach writing in colleges everywhere though initially published in 1976.

Today, we focus on text from the chapter called “Writing About Yourself: The Memoir.” He explains, “Memoir isn’t the summary of a life; it’s a window into a life.”

Zinsser says our job as memoir writers “is to be the editor of our lives.” We can’t just dump all our memories onto the page if we expect to write a coherent memoir.

We have to give our half-remembered events a shape and an overarching idea and then choose moments to support both. Focus on the moments of your life and write them well.

Zinsser’s subsequent books–Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past and Writing Places: The Life Journey of a Writer and Teacher are equally excellent.

Remember, the only way to do this wrong is to not do it at all!

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