1.7 Employment
Employment stories can be entertaining (e.g., Waiting … , Office Space, The Devil Wears Prada, or The Nanny Diaries). Almost everybody has a job, and most people have had to endure a horrible boss or coworker, so the audience can relate to a good employment story.
• Did you hate your job so much that you quit even though you needed the money?
• Did you suffer a mental breakdown after the loss of a job?
• Was there a time in your life where your job was your only source of companionship?
• Did you ever have a job in which your coworker or boss sabotaged your career advancement?
1.8 Parents
Stories about parents can be serious, sad, or happy. From parents who were neglectful to parents who were overprotective, the possibilities under this topic are endless. A good reference is the dark comedy Welcome to the Dollhouse, which covers family relationships.
• Were you so close with your parents, you could tell them things other kids wouldn’t dare share with their parents?
• Did the relationship with your parents make you want to be a parent?
• Did you hate your parents for the longest time until you became a parent yourself? If so, what’s that relationship like now?
1.9 Dirty secrets
Who doesn’t have dirty secrets? Do you dare write about your own dirty secrets?
• Did you harbor a secret that you would do anything to keep under wraps?
• Were you ruined by a secret that got out?
• Are you keeping a secret now?
1.10 Health and wellness
Health and wellness stories can cover a variety of topics such as mental illness or a physical disability and coping with the effects of the illness. Running with Scissors is a harrowing story of a son’s difficult relationship with his mother and her questionable mental health.
• Did you have a health scare that made you see life in a totally new light?
• Were you diagnosed with an illness that changed your life?
• Were/are you a health nut because of something that happened to a friend or family member?
• What’s your health situation now?
1.11 Undying aspirations
There are many stories that can be told about undying aspirations. For example, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom is based on the true story of a Texas mom who tries to hire a hit man to kill a cheerleader and/or the cheerleader’s mother.
• Did you always want to be an actress but were afraid you would fail?
• Did you want to play sports professionally but were afraid your parents would not approve?
• Would you have done anything to be a dancer?
• How has not following your dreams affected your life?
• What dream would you like to pursue now?
1.12 Accomplishments and overcoming obstacles
Accomplishments and overcoming obstacles can range from getting over an addiction to getting hired at your dream job.
Lots of families have drug-addicted sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers. What do you do when tough love isn’t enough? How about writing about it? This is how you get a movie made, by plumbing your own emotional depths to find a truth greater than yourself that will resonate with an audience. When people recognize their own relatives in your movie, your writing will truly move to another level. It’s why the movie The Fighter was so powerful. Christian Bale’s character is an addict, but his character’s mother is in denial. The movie’s journey is as much the story of Bale’s character and his mother’s acceptance of this addiction as it is the victory of Mark Wahlberg’s character in the ring.
Another movie about addiction is coauthor Paul Peditto’s Pictures of Baby Jane Doe (you will find the entire script in the Appendix). The story studies addiction from the point of view of the enabler.
You can tell your story from whatever angle you know best whether you were the addict, or someone you knew was the addict, and show how the addiction affected loved ones.
• Did you go from making $50,000 to $100,000 a year (or vice versa)?
• Were you at the top of your graduating class?
• Did you figure out an answer to a problem that stumped everyone else around you for months?
• Did you overcome an addiction when everyone else had given up on you?
• Are you living the life of your dreams? If not, ask yourself why?
If you want to see an inspiring true story, watch 127 Hours. The story is based on the mountain climber, Aron Lee Ralston, who overcame incredible odds to survive.
1.13 Marriage and divorce
The topics of marriage and divorce can be serious or funny, you just have to remember to connect with your audience.
• Did you marry the wrong person?
• Was getting married the best or worst decision you ever made?
• Did marriage teach you something that you would like to share with others?
• What do you think about marriage now?
• Do you regret your divorce?
• Was getting a divorce the best or worst thing that could have ever happened to you? Did/will you marry again?
1.14 Life’s crossroads
There are many crossroads in life. The key is to find the crossroad that had the most impact on your life and that will impact the most on your audience.
• Were you emotionally altered by a specific event?
• Was there a time when you thought you would not make it, but you did?
• Have you ever given up on life?
• Did someone say or do something to you that set you on a new life course? Where are you now because of that decision?
• Have you ever strived and struggled to accomplish something, then after not succeeding, realized it was not what you wanted all along?
2. Choosing the Right Moment for Your Story
Now that we have glossed over possible angles for your life story and the wheels are turning in your head, what’s next? Choose one of the following:
• The moment in time where there was the most drama and pain. You may say, “but there were so many!” I know, I know. Just pick one.
• The moment in time that you find the most fascinating, whether good or bad fascination.
• The moment in time where you learned your biggest lesson.
• The moment in time that put you on a new course of life.
• The moment in time when you strived and struggled and then won.
Memoirs are about certain, unique, sometimes life-transforming