Every so often, I come across a post from a writer who claims that one of the main differences between writing fiction and writing memoir is the use of imagination: fiction writers are unlimited in their use of imagination but memoir writers have to stick to the facts they remember.
Nonsense.
The use of imagination can lift a memoir from a retelling of events as remembered to storytelling at its best. Why?
Most people write a memoir long after the events they describe have passed. If you’re lucky, you may have a photo, a letter, a journal – something to help trigger memories. But most likely, what you have is a sketchy memory of what happened.
Most of the writers I work with are also writing their memoirs long after the people who played a key role in their lives have passed. Almost always, I hear:
“I wish I’d asked my father…”, or “I wish I’d thought to ask my mother…”
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Imagination can help us to fill in the blanks. It can help us to paint a picture in the reader’s mind, to flesh out a scene, and enhance our reader’s comprehension of what we’re trying to share.
A bit of imagination can enhance a fragment of memory. It can help you to surmise the season when an event took place, and even the occasion.
“I remember my mother walking down the front steps of our house. I don’t remember what month it was, but I figure it was deep winter because my mother wore her thick winter coat, the good one. The one she wore to church or some special occasion on a very cold day.”
Metaphors and Similes
The tiniest, easiest brushstrokes of imagination are metaphors and similes. They can also deliver big impact.
A simple metaphor can help you hear a sound: “His voice was crushed gravel.”
A simile can be more descriptive than a hundred words. “She was bent over as she walked, looking more like a 90 year old woman than the 50 year old she was.”
“As if”
One of the workshops I most enjoy facilitating is on the use of two words: ‘as if’.
“Write about a scene or feeling you experienced,” I tell the group. “Use the words ‘as if’ to help the reader understand what it was like.”
‘As if’ can be magical – taking both writer and reader into another dimension.
I share one or more examples:
“His insult hit me hard. It was as if he’d punched me in my gut.”
“The morning sun was so bright, it was as if everything around me had turned to gold.”
“My father hung up the phone without speaking but his face was crumpled, as if he had just received disastrous news.”
The next time someone says memoir-writing does not require imagination, don’t accept it. Meanwhile, enjoy using your imagination to bring your writing alive.
My best,
Cynthia.
Enjoyed your examples, Cynthia.
Thank you! I hope your new year is off to a good start. Wishing you good health – and peace, for goodness’ sake – in 2026.
Thanks. Ok except for our government.
Excellent examples for memoir writing, Cynthia!
Thank you, Lavinia, for reading and commenting on my infrequest blog posts.
I appreciate you!
I appreciate you, too!
Good practical advice that can take something from good to great.
Thank you, Judy.
Wishing you a healthy and rewarding 2026.
Yes, in some cases. Also interesting: we often remember only our part and POV in an event and the other participants’ words and actions/reactions can fade almost entirely.
Yes, partially depending on their role. For example, it’s hard to forget my first grade teacher when I was kicked out of school for the year.
I read a lot of memoirs, and one thing I ask myself a lot is, how did the writer remember all these details? And how much embroidery is okay?
Hi Mollie:
Thanks for visiting my site.
I’m not sure what you mean by “embroidery”.
Please explain and I will try my best to reply.
Such helpful advice, Cynthia! Thank you. 💜🪶.
Thank you, Carol.
I notice your blog is now private.
Happy new year to you and your loved ones!
Wishing you a happy new year, too, Cynthia.
(Thank you for commenting on my blog’ “private” setting. It was the only way I could stop the hundreds of views every day, and hundreds of shares every week of my older posts on social media without my permission. It’s made me question if it’s wise for me to post anything on WP.)
I hear you. I at first thought we had to permit re-blogging – only to discovefr they can share it anyway.
Interestingly, WordPress seems unconcerned with the issue. They thought I should be pleased to have so many visitors and shared posts. Even with my blog set on “private,” I am still getting more than 500 to over 1000 visitors a day.
I do write and post for few followers who asked permission to follow my blog. I’m hoping the visitors will finally get bored trying to gain access. In the meantime, I have a chance to review old posts, edit, and remove things I no longer want to share publicly. It also gives me time to decide if I even want to continue blogging. But it’s not something I have to decide immediately. 😊
I hear you.
I wonder if we need to start a campaign to stop WP from allowing this practice?
As someone who is trying, and failing dismally, to write a memoir at the moment, I can attest to all of this. Imagination is definitely needed and it’s much harder if you are the kind of person who just writes because realistically, you need to plan.
Yes you do. But I know how you write, so we shall not overplan!
And no, you’re not failing miserably.
I so enjoyed your post Cynthia!
Thank you. And I enjoyed hearing from you, Julie!
I hope you and your loved ones are doing well.
I have a request: Could you please write a “Hello 2026” post?
For the pleasure of my own and others’ reading.
Don’t say ‘no’.
I’m wishing you good things in 2026.
Oh aren’t you lovely .. I’m working on a post right now! A rather late one. I do so hope that you and your loved ones are doing well. Hugs and wishing you a special 2026.
I look forward to seeing your new post, Julie. Really, really.
I never thought of imagination’s role in memoir-writing. What an illustrative post, Cynthia. It makes perfect sense. My dad is writing his memoir, and there’s a lot of imagination involved. 😀
I bet!
It’s good to hear from you, Diana.
Memoir writing – whether for publication or just a small group – is fraught with pitfalls but also many opportunities. In teaching and coaching writers, I’ve had to give a lot of thought to where those lines and opportunities are. It’s been fun.