Gather all your worksheets so far. At this point you should have a working title for your memoir, a strong opening sentence or hook, and a moral to the story. You should also have a list of important details on the Lesson 2 worksheet. Now it is time to connect the pieces together and actually write your first memoir.

Print the Remembers When Lesson 5 Worksheet, titled “Connecting the dots.” Fill in the title and your opening and closing sentences. After you have read through your notes on the Lesson 2 Worksheet one more time, put all your worksheets aside except Lesson 5. It is time to write a memoir and you do not need to refer to any of the previous worksheets in order to do it.

Why?

How to write memoirs is only giving you a structure to work with. You already know the story. This is what makes writing memoirs such a great experience. Everything you need is in your head. You know how the story begins and how it ends. You know what parts are funny or tragic, and which parts are so important that you can’t tell the story without them. You have either told the story to family and friends, or you have rehearsed it in your mind a hundred times. Now all you have to do is write it down.

This story may be as short or as long as it takes to tell it. There is no minimum or maximum length that your memoir needs to meet. You can start on the Lesson 5 Worksheet and move on to additional sheets of paper, the back of the worksheet, or your journal. Where and how you choose to write this part is up to you. Just remember that you only have to tell this one story right now. Connect your great opening line with your pithy close and enjoy telling your story!