Navigating the waters of memoir writing can feel like you’re trying to swim upstream in a river of tangled memories. Ever found yourself questioning, “Where do I even start?” or “How can I possibly make sense of a life that’s still unfolding?” You’re not alone! Many budding memoirists grapple with the daunting task of structuring their personal narratives. In fact, I remember coaching my MFA students through this very challenge. They often felt overwhelmed, especially when asked to weave together the threads of their life experiences into a coherent story—one that encapsulates the essence of their journey while still being compelling.
But worry not! There’s a surprisingly simple structure that can breathe life into your narrative: the fish structure. It’s like having a life preserver in that turbulent sea of memories! This approach allows you to reflect on the past while telling your story in the present, striking a balance between the complexity of your experiences and the clarity needed to engage your readers. So, if you’re feeling lost on how to shape your memoir, let’s dive into this foundational tool that could very well save your story!
This structure could save your story
My MFA students used to agonize over structure. Especially the memoirists. There’s something particularly challenging about stitching together a story about your own life that travels backward and forward in time and that has a beginning, middle, and end despite the fact that your true story has not yet ended and you may not be entirely sure where or how it began. Every memoir has a plot, of course, just as every novel does, but memoirs are not autobiographies; they do not plot every step of your whole life, much less your whole genealogy. Few interesting memoirs begin with the memoirist’s birth, and none end with their death. So what, exactly is the story that needs to be told, and how should it be structured?
“Try the fish,” I’d tell my students. “It’s the simplest structure for memoir, and it usually works.” It can also work for fiction, but it’s ideal for the typical memoir. That’s because most memoirs consist of a story that’s being told in the present by a narrator reflecting on the past, much as the top of the fish shape reflects the arc of the bottom.
What’s the story?
If you’re writing a memoir, you need to focus your story on some aspect of your experience, relationships, and awareness that changed your understanding of yourself and the world…
