Memoir-writing

I went to the first day of a two-day writers' conference yesterday, here in Boston. The conference, "Muse and the Marketplace," featured a mass of professional writers of various levels and pedigrees. The invited guests--those speaking on panels and in the breakout sessions, had impressive credentials. Meanwhile, I'm still plugging along, trying to shape/shoehorn my essay collection into book form, and trying to figure out how to structure a memoir.

That process, of telling an interesting story in book form, which is not too monotonous, depressing or repetitious, has been elusive, slippery, like trying to pick up a fish with my bare hands. In a sense, I am using my hands to write, to remember, and to frame a story in a (hopefully) engaging way. But the pieces haven't come together yet. I've got vignettes that work, but divining how they fit together is another story.

I'd love to hear from writers who have shaped their own experiences into a book, and how they decided on a narrative frame and time sequence in their books. In the mean time, I'm slogging on, and looking forward to Lesley University's writers' conference in July, when I can get more help and advice.