When you write about being an "easy target," you risk becoming one again—to critics, to trolls, to people who don't understand. But that vulnerability is also what makes memoir powerful.

There Is No Perfect Beginning You'll rewrite your opening dozens of times. That's normal. The beginning you need to write first isn't always the beginning readers need to read first.

You can be factually accurate and emotionally dishonest. You can also have imperfect memory and be deeply, powerfully honest.

You need enough separation from your story to write about it without retraumatizing yourself. If you're still in the thick of the experience, you're not ready. Memoir requires the ability to dive into painful memories and resurface intact.