A memoir is essentially a biography. It is one of the most popular forms of creative nonfiction among readers, but attracts relatively few aspiring writers. This is because the writers put little imagination into writing a biography. In order to succeed in writing a memoir you need to follow a few rules.

First the write must resist the impulse to tell the reader everything they have learned about their subject. If they include every little nuance of the person's life it will result in an insipid and monotonous narrative.

Second, they need to find the story they want to tell about their subject, a story buried under all of the information they've gathered. A well written memoir will condense all the information to fit a particular story about the subject's life.

Lastly, a memoir shouldn't be written in chronological order, like a history timeline is. The day-by-day narrative pattern of most biography needs to be reimagined. Mixing up the chronological order can add an element of suspense by using flashbacks and future references, similar to how a documentary film would be done.

A memoir is a work of literature that can take over a dozen years to complete. It is unfortunately a work most writers stray from, but when it is done properly it is one of the most popular forms of literature among readers