Drafting Autobiographical Memoir

The drafting stage is critical for success in writing an autobiographical memoir. In following William Zinsser’s characterization of writing a memoir as ‘a careful act of literary construction’ (2015, online), this chapter focuses on the essential, and often challenging, creative, ethical and emotional labour that memoir writers complete in drafting their manuscripts. After defining ‘drafting’ in this context, the chapter details the practical process of drafting autobiographical memoir, the elements of drafting, and the artistic and ethical issues and choices involved in – and affected by – the drafting process. Drawing upon the testimony of autobiographical memoir writers, gathered from interviews and their published musings on the form, this chapter provides significant insights into the processes and uses of drafting for memoirists.