Newton’s third law says every action will have an equal but opposite reaction. This is true in stories, too … or at least it should be. How do we get to know characters, even as they flit from one conflict-ridden chase scene to the next? Through reaction beats.

Premise is the short summary of your story, also known as the hook or logline, that informs the reader’s expectations of where the story will go. Stay on track and learn how to structure your personal story with strong premise in memoir.

If you’re struggling to figure out how to write your memoir or can’t seem to find the right words, here are three writing practices to make you a better memoir writer and help your memories, reflections, and musings shine bright and clear.

To outline or not? Writing projects start with a spark—a character, a scene, a what-if moment. But what happens from there?

Many aspiring memoirists wonder: how true does my memoir have to be? It can be daunting to think about the holes in our memory, the times we disagree with others about what really happened, or the way time has altered our perception. No one wants to become the latest scandal for lying in a memoir!

What happens when you’ve written a memoir but find that your words aren’t resonating with readers the way you thought they would? And upon that realization, what do you do or change to bridge the gap?

Story ideas don’t always come easily, but sometimes we get glimmers that turn into a list of foggy ideas. How do we decide which new idea to run with? And how do we take steps to make it shine?

If you’re writing a memoir, you have to write your life events exactly the way they happened—but you don’t have to write them in order! Give your readers a backwards walk through your remarkable life with reverse chronology.

Many writers run into some form of writer’s block, but nonfiction and memoir writers have certain challenges to overcome writer’s block that fiction writers don’t face. Someone writing a novel can simply … make up what happens next. But memoir writers can feel constrained by wanting to be true to reality.

Chapter structure, like plot structure, is key to achieving a believable and engaging narrative. Here’s how to make sure your chapters are complete and doing as much work for you and your story as possible.