Memoir and the Hall Cupboard

Writing a memoir is a bit like emptying out your hall cupboard. You pull everything onto the floor and suddenly think, this is impossible! I’ll never get all of this organised! A lifetime of stuff is a lot of stuff. Think of all those Christmases, birthday parties, betrayals. Maybe the wrong man or woman, maybe even the right man or woman (lucky you!). That hall cupboard is hiding a lot of memories and there are all sorts of things in there. Like the teachers you had, or the cities and countries you’ve lived in.

The problem is not that you don’t have enough story.

It’s that you have too much.

So, what do you leave in and what do you leave out?

Sorry, but most of those memories get left out.

Memoir is not your life. It is what your life means. It is your point of view.

If you try to include everything, the reader is staring into that old family hall cupboard going, I am so confused! Where is this going? But if you know what you are trying to say, suddenly the cupboard starts to sort itself out.

You are not writing about your childhood.

You are writing about invisibility. Or ambition. Or shame. Or survival. Or being the good girl. Or breaking away. Or learning that manners were power. Or learning that they were not.

That is the difference.

So here is a small exercise. It works even if you are writing fiction.

Sit down and write ten moments from your life that still have an electric shock in them. The moments that still make you feel something.

What is the thread?

Are you always trying to belong? Always trying to escape? Always trying to be perfect? Always trying not to need anyone?

Once you know what you are trying to say, the book starts to behave itself. And then the hall cupboard suddenly has matching boxes, little labels, woven baskets, clear storage tubs, colour-coded files, velvet hangers, dividers, stackable drawers and even those little humidity box thingies that say they control the damp (mine are always full of water, so they must do something right).

If having that kind of a cupboard sounds good to you, come and join us on March 17. In our special 2-3 hour Memoir Zoom we will slow everything down. We will concentrate. We will work on story and theme and memoir properly so that your story begins to pull together (rather than pull you apart.)

On March 17: Memory into Memoir.

Sydney: 7:00 PM (AEDT)
Brisbane: 6:00 PM (AEST)
Adelaide: 6:30 PM (ACDT)
London: 8:00 AM (GMT)
Central Europe: 9:00 AM (CET)

Rome, that’s you at 9:00 AM! Civilized, espresso-ready time.

On April 14: The Major Dramatic Question (trying to get your readers to stop wandering off to make tea.)

May 12: Character and Conflict

The Sydney Story Workshop runs for 3 days in August. It’s 3 days of deep learning and deep thinking and deep talking and deep writing and deep listening. Yeah, all very deep. Running Friday 21 to Sunday 23 August 2026 at Woollahra Library, Double Bay, The Art of Writing: Sydney Story Workshop. Seven masterclasses. Five extraordinary teachers. A literary agent Q&A with the chance to present your précis. Lunch included because thinking is hungry work. As well as a panel of professionals on ways to make money while you write your best seller.

The Art of Writing is an international circle of serious, curious writers. We don’t chase quick fixes. We roll up our sleeves, ask better questions and stay with the difficult drafts until they become something worth keeping.

Places are limited. Book your place now or write to us about a payment plan to secure your spot.

There’s Rome too. Super special. One place left!

Timeless Craft
Rome
8 to 12 November 2026

Seven participants only. Four days of focused teaching in the heart of Rome. Writing walks. Guided tour. Welcome drinks. Opening and closing dinners. Conversations that matter. Especially with Anya Camilleri, international screenwriter and TV/Film Director who will discuss taking our work from page to screen.

If you are considering joining us in Sydney or Rome, or just want to find out more about what The Art of Writing is all about, write to me for the full Sydney or Rome program before they disappear. Clifford.lisa@hotmail.com