After Life by Joan Didion - In the aftermath of her husband’s death, Didion meditates on the fragility of life

Tennis, Trigonometry, Tornadoes by David Foster Wallace - I grew up inside vectors, lines and lines athwart lines, grids - and, on the scale of horizons, broad curving lines of geographic force

Settle On Your Theme. Your unstated theme must be, “You’re not alone. If I overcame this, you can. Time needed to read: 7 minutes. How To Start a Memoir – 6 Bestselling Ways. Make them wonder. Humans are by nature curious, so if you start a memoir with a puzzling statement, there’s a good. 10 Amazing Examples of Short Memoir Writing. After Life by Joan Didion - In the aftermath of her husband’s death, Didion meditates on the fragility of life. Tennis, Trigonometry, Tornadoes by David Foster Wallace - I grew up inside vectors, lines and lines athwart lines, grids - and, on the scale of horizons, broad curving lines of geographic. 50 Short Memoirs - Examples of Narrative Personal Essays by Famous Authors The best examples of short memoir, narrative personal essays, reflective essays and creative nonfiction by famous writers Life. Scars by David Owen The Same River Twice by David Quammen. 30 more great articles about life.

Three by David Sedaris - A trio of the best Sedaris stories including The Youth in Asia, Jesus Shaves and Giant Dreams, Midget Abilities

Peculiar Benefits by Roxane Gay - Until visiting Haiti, I had no idea what poverty really was or the difference between relative and absolute poverty

Mirrorings by Lucy Grealy - An outstanding essay that describes the author’s changing self image as she went through years of reconstructive facial surgery

Scars by David Owen - A life in injuries

The Kingdom of Snow and Ghosts by Michael Chabon - There may never again be a tedium so wretched and marvelous as that produced by television in the heyday of the aerial

Dead Man Laughing by Zadie Smith - “My father had few enthusiasms, but he loved comedy.”

Example Of A Memoir Paper

Patient by Rachel Riederer - Two of the tires are sitting on my left leg, and my right leg is wedged into the little crevice between the pairs

Mistakes Were Made, Errors Happened by Karl Taro Greenfeld - I was looking for a soft future and didn’t see any reason why a kid like me wouldn’t find his way in the Tokyo summer

Anyone can write 100 word flash memoirs.

Just remember one punctuating life-moment. It could be 20 years ago, or just yesterday. Perhaps something painful, perhaps blissful. Then, be in that moment, and write a few lines.

Thanks to Joan Leof and some Twitter friends, I’m re-inspired to get back into my memories, and start writing again. After journaling for 28 years, I’d given up on trying to make a coherent, succinct chronicle of my story. I thought I’d be content just to keep journaling.
Then, in a conversation with Joan, she stirred the soup of my creative complacency. She reminded me of my belief that my story is worth telling. She rekindled my hope that stories should connect our human race, like a patchwork quilt of peace. This re-awakened my vision of publishing my story.

I used to be overwhelmed by the thought of all the work involved in piecing together the bits of my life into something interesting for the public. Characters. Plot development. Themes and sub-plots. Point of view. Do I flash-back or flash-forward? But when I learned about Flash Memoirs from Jessica Jensen (@jensen_jessica), the story started writing itself.
Each day, I write just one mini-story: a 100-word piece, inspired by a memory or one highlight on my timeline. Flash-Memoirs are to an autobiography what Haiku are to poetry.

Here’s an example:

Closeted on a Cruise Ship

I accepted the offer. A fresh start, new beginning. A crisp uniform. My first chance to explore the world. What a miraculous opportunity! From a dead-end desk job, to a luxury cruise line officer. Far from everything I ever knew. New people. Sights. Languages. Foods. A buffet of cultures. An open space in which to declare myself whatever I want to be. Teacher. Author. Healer. Purveyor of truth and justice. A beacon for those who are striving to understand and accept themselves. Only, this ship is one socially screwy place. A repressed and chauvinistic environment. A swarm of gay men, but deep in denial! I’m lonely, and back in the closet again.

About the Author of this post, Nathan Ohren

Nathan Ohren researches the web for journaling experts who have a story to share. He found me a couple of months ago and we have started a stimulating dialogue. When he shared his positive experience with 100-WORD FLASH MEMOIRS, I invited him to share it here.

Memoir Of Famous People

Nathan is the host of JournalTalk, a bi-weekly podcast featuring expert information and inspiration on journal-writing. He has been keeping a personal journal for over 28 years, and enjoys coaching people and facilitating groups for creativity, self-empowerment and effective life management. Nathan is the founder of www.Write4Life.us, a resource for “living with passion, clarity, and purpose through journaling.”