Finding a form; writing a narrative

Abstract

This chapter discusses the form (or, perhaps, forms) one might use in a life writing narrative. It discusses the various formal choices one will make during construction of the narrative, and offers examples from published texts. The chapter provides a set of activities to engage with and to practise a range of autobiographical and biographical forms. Choices about form play a crucial part in the ways in which the narrative will take shape. Early consideration of the structural elements that underpin any piece of writing means greater freedom later on. The chapter considers the characteristics of various forms of autobiography and how one might employ them in a life writing text. It discusses, in turn, memoir, travel writing, diary, journal, and letters. Travel writers use examples of both the more connected and the more fragmented narrative methods. Through-lines provides one way of establishing a formal structure for life writing, and they are valuable in this respect.