Why You Don't Need to be a "Writer" to Write Your Memoir

There’s a belief that keeps far too many stories locked away:

“I’m not a writer.”

In this episode, we gently unravel that idea—and replace it with something far more freeing.

Because memoir was never meant to belong to “writers.”
 It belongs to people who have lived, felt, questioned, and grown.

If you’ve been waiting to feel more confident, more qualified, or more “ready” before you begin writing your story, this episode is your permission slip to stop waiting.

You don’t need perfect grammar.
 You don’t need a polished voice.
 You don’t need to know how it all ends.

You just need a willingness to begin.

Inside this episode, we explore:

•  Why the label “writer” might be the very thing holding you back 
•  What memoir is actually about (hint: it’s not perfection) 
•  The mindset shift that makes writing feel possible again 
•  What you truly need to start—and it’s simpler than you think 

This is an invitation to come back to your story—not as a writer, but as a witness to your own life.

✨ Takeaway

You don’t become a writer and then start your memoir.

You start your memoir… and somewhere along the way, you realize you’ve been a writer all along.

💡 Ready to Begin?

Join me for my free workshop:
 The Memoir Blueprint: How to Stop Overthinking and Start Writing

This is where you’ll take that first step—with guidance, structure, and the permission you’ve been waiting for.

SAVE YOUR SEAT FOR THE WORKSHOP!

💬 Let’s Stay Connected

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who has a story inside them.

And if you’re ready for support, encouragement, and a community of writers just like you, come join us inside my free Facebook group: Memoir Magic for Aspiring Authors..

Thank you for listening to this episode of Making Memoir Magic. To learn more about my course, Make Memoir Magic, click here. 

Join my free Facebook Group, Memoir Magic for Aspiring Authors, where we honor your story, provide tips, create community, and help you write the story you were meant to tell. Join here!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Making Memoir Magic, the podcast where we unlock the power of your story and guide you through the magical process of turning life experiences into memoirs that inspire and impact. I'm your host, Carrie Chrysler, a memoir mentor and storytelling champion. And I'm here to help you find the courage to embrace your unique story and share it with the world. Whether you're just starting out or refining your final draft, this is the place to be for practical tips, inspiration, and the encouragement you need to write the memoir only you can tell. Ready to make some magic? Let's dive in. Hello friends, and welcome back to the Making Memoir Magic podcast. I am excited to be talking about this particular topic today because I am feeling a little rebellious, and maybe what I'm going to talk about is even a little dangerous, something that people don't say out loud in the writing community enough. But I'm going to say it right now. I'm not going to beat around the bush. I'm going to say it and then I'm going to explain it and tell you what it means for you. So here we go. You, you aspiring author, you don't need to be a writer to write your memoir. Now, you have to write, of course, but you don't need to be a writer in the sense of the word. It doesn't need to be your job. It doesn't need to be what you studied in school. You don't need initials after your last name that designate you as a writer, if there is such a thing. You don't need to have majored in narrative nonfiction, even if that's a major literature, English. You get the idea. Now, there's a caveat. You need to write well. You need to have a well-structured, thought-out story that flows and it needs to be error-free and grammatically correct. All of that. So what you do need, and is the most important thing, especially when it comes to memoir, is story. And if you're here breathing and remembering and carrying pieces of a life that you've lived, then you already have one. Chances are you have more than one, but you have at least one compelling story that would make a fantastic memoir. And somewhere along the way, those of us who want to write a memoir, who have always dreamed of writing, we have this idea that, quote, real writers are a special breed. They're people who wake up inspired, write effortlessly, and have always been good with words. Meanwhile, the rest of us, we hesitate, we overthink, we rewrite the same paragraph 17 times, and we're still not sure it's right. I want to tell you that the best-selling, widely published authors do struggle with the same things that you and me struggle with in our writing. There's two books I've read in the last couple months, um Joyride by Susan Orlean, and uh Danny Shapiro's memoir Inheritance. Um, somewhere throughout that memoir, or in the other, well, they were both memoirs, they both mentioned that at some point during their writing, imposter syndrome creeped in. And they have published multiple books and they're always on the bestseller list. So don't label yourself with this, I'm not a writer, um, plastered across your forehead. Don't say, I've never been good at writing, or I wouldn't even know where to begin. Because when you say those things, it's like closing the door before you ever step through it. And here is the truth that no one says out loud. Writer is not an identity that you need to earn before you begin. It's something that quietly becomes true because you begin. Having the title writer is not a prerequisite for writing a memoir. Writing a memoir is witnessing your own life and sharing the words that convey what you learned, what you experienced, and why it mattered. That's writing a memoir. It's also about noticing and remembering what impacted you enough that it is still with you today. It's about the events that shaped you, that remain in your consciousness and even in your subconscious for a reason. Your job, writer, is to notice them and make sense of how they changed you and why it should matter to others. So when you decide to write your memoir, you're not sitting down to impress anyone with perfect prose. You're sitting down to tell the truth as you experienced it. And truth doesn't require perfection. Think about the stories that you love the most. They don't stay with you because of flawless grammar. And I return to that because I'm also an editor and it is important. But when you first write, it's more important to get the words out and not edit along the way. That's what I mean by that. The stories stay with you because you felt something when you read them, they make you connect with the author because you say to yourself, Yes, I felt that too. Someone else understands. I'm not alone. So that kind of writing comes from honesty. So if you don't need to be a quote writer, what do you need? The first thing that you need is permission. You need to give your permission, yourself permission to write badly at first, to ramble, to not know exactly what you're doing, because you're always going to return to your work and you're going to revise it. You're going to distill 5,000 words into 1,000 really good ones. So you need to know what does this mean to me and why does it still stay with me? And you also need courage, not loud, like I'm doing this thing, kind of courage, but quiet courage that says you with yourself, the conversation, I'm going to write this down, even if no one ever reads it, because when you believe that, you believe in your story before anyone else. And you need to be the first, most important person to believe in your story. So every memoir starts with a private conversation with yourself. So instead of asking yourself, Am I a writer? Ask yourself, am I willing to remember? Am I willing to feel like those feelings that you have to return to that might be uncomfortable or hard to resurrect? Am I willing to tell the truth as I understand it? Because when you shift that question or those questions, um, everything opens. You stop trying to perform as if I am a writer, I have to do this and that and behave in a certain way. You stop trying to sound like someone else and you start sounding like you. And that voice, that unfiltered, slightly messy, deeply human voice is the one that your readers are going to trust. So if you've been feeling ready and qualified to call yourself a writer, consider this a gentle interruption in your thought processes. You don't need to study to become a writer and write your memoir. You just need to begin. You need to begin with one moment, one memory, one honest sentence at a time. So your story is not asking for perfection. So let me reiterate: you need good craft, well-constructed sentences, a structure that guides your readers on a journey. That can be learned, and it will come. What can't be learned is your story, what you already have, and the way that only you can tell it. So if this resonated with you and if there's a story tugging at your sleeve, I invite you to join me for my free workshop, The Memoir Blueprint, How to Stop Overthinking and Start Writing. The link to Save Your Seat is in the show notes, and I would love to have you there. I also want you to know right now that you don't need to have it all figured out. It's important to have goals. It's important to envision your finished book holding it in your hands. But if you project too far and that's all you envision, you'll never start. Okay, and what I'm going to give you in this class, this free workshop is a place to start. You'll find your core story through a framework that I teach. And I would be honored to help you take that first step. So again, the link to sign up is in the show notes. Share this with a friend. Invite a friend. It's more fun with more people, right? Um, come to this free workshop May 7th, live on Zoom. I would love to help you get started with your memoir. Or if you've already started writing and you're feeling stuck, I'll help you revive a stagnant work in progress. So check the show notes. Uh, join my free Facebook group if you're not already in it. It's Memoir Magic for Aspiring Authors. I will put that in the show notes as well. And I'll see you May 7th. As always, keep writing. I believe in you and the power of your story. Thank you for joining me on this episode of Making Memoir Magic. I hope today's conversation inspired you to take the next step toward telling your unique story through memoir. Remember, your story matters and someone out there is waiting to read it. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. It helps others find the show. You can also connect with me on my website at carryCreisman.com, on Instagram at carry. You'll get more tips and inspiration on your memoir journey. And each Wednesday, I host a memoir magic writing where you get to join other writers to accomplish the often arduous task of getting words on the page. Until next time, keep writing, keep sharing, and keep making memoir magic.