Musical Memoir Prompts

Use a playlist to tell your story.

It's tricky knowing where and how to begin writing a memoir. What you shouldn't do, however, is write down everything about your life in chronological order - this is not a historical document. Try instead to think of your memoir as a look at some of the high, low and unusual moments of your years on the planet - the bits that will engage a reader and inspire them, make them laugh, cause their jaw to drop and consider their own life choices - in short, the interesting parts.

Once you've identified these book-worthy scenes, the next thing to do is to think about how you can pull these scenes together to give your memoir some kind of narrative structure. This is your theme. It could be travel or coincidences or the dogs you've loved. One of the most interesting memoirs I've read is Maggie O'Farrell's I am I am I am and the theme that holds this author's scenes together is 'near-death experiences' - an unusual theme but a memorable one.

But what if you can't think of a theme? What if you're not sure of how to pull your fascinating and remarkable scenes together into a memoir?

The advice I always give to clients who are struggling with a theme is to begin with music. I often listen to Desert Island Discs and understand that when each guest chooses the songs they'd take with them to a desert island, they never choose their actual favourite songs. What they do is choose music that illustrates the key scenes of their life story. And you can do the same with your memoir.

Ask yourself these questions and see which ones you can work with. All of them won't apply to your life. But some of them, or even one of them, might help you start writing your memoir.

What did you dance to with your mum in the living room?

What song did you hide behind as a teenager?

What piece of music did you fall in/out of love to for the first time?

What is your rage song?

Which song can you no longer listen to?

Which piece of music always makes you cry?

What song did you most listen to on the school runs you did with your children?

What sing always gets you on the dance floor?

What song is going to be played at your funeral?

What music do you associate with your best friends?

What music do you associate with the worst thing that has happened to you?

What song makes you feel understood - your 'This is me' song?

I hope these questions help you start writing your memoir. Let me know how you get on.