How Do You Turn a Memory Into a Story People Want to Read?

A memory, a subject, a thought can stay in our minds, and we just know it needs to be a story. However, it takes more than an unforgettable or traumatic event, an idea, or a thought to create an essay. Often the story doesn’t resonate with readers because the meaning was lost in translation from thought to words. These enduring memories or events that shaped us into who we are, those stories close to our hearts—how do we shape them into stories? Is it magic that transforms a memory from a personal experience to a moving essay? No, we can learn to pull back the curtains of time and let readers peek into our lives. <h2>For me, those thoughts are often about dogs.</h2> Since childhood, at least fifty dogs have shared my life. Honestly, I’ve had more canine buddies than human friends. I have loved, bred, raised, and sold dogs. They worked with me to herd livestock and search for drugs, explosives, and cadavers. I have no shortage of stories about dogs, so the tales are easy to tell. But how can that word, dog — those memories, become an essay, or more specifically, a memoir essay? In her craft book, <a href="https://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780374167332?invid=17647072496&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NMPi&gclid=CjwKCAjwgZCoBhBnEiwAz35RwuxZhAuZFqFFiXlB-_L1l2wzohh6O-KKIbHlHlFSYra1fHKuW2QbZhoCYLMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">The Situation and the Story</a>, Vivian Gornick considers this question. <a href="https://medium.com/the-memoirist/how-do-you-turn-a-memory-into-a-story-people-want-to-read-4f757db21fd3">Read More</a>