Several of you have asked for this. I don't tend to write memoir, but it's interesting, and I'll give it a go. Follow #TenThingsAboutMemoir to collect them all! https://twitter.com/IslaAitken/status/1059482902931668993

1. One of the most important thing about writing memoir is to know who you're writing it *for*. There's a big difference between writing as a celebrity (for an audience of fans), a politician (for posterity), or writing your life story for your grandchildren. #TenThingsAboutMemoir

2. You don't have to be a celebrity or a politician to write a memoir that readers will enjoy. But you do have to make a connection with your potential readers. #TenThingsAboutMemoir

3. That means finding a balance between writing about yourself and your own feelings and linking those things with something that your readers will identify with. #TenThingsAboutMemoir

4. It helps if you can find a theme around which you can build your memoir. Memoirs have been written around such diverse themes as mental health, or food, or travel, or pets, or politics, or music, or pop culture, or books. #TenThingsAboutMemoir

5. Unless your life has been *very* eventful, just writing about your life may not be enough to gain you a large readership (although many people writing memoirs don't want that; they want to pass something on to their children or grandchildren.) #TenThingsAboutMemoir

6. In any case, writing memoir has many things in common with writing fiction. It needs a strong authorial voice; colourful and memorable characters, relatable themes, solid construction. #TenThingsAboutMemoir

7. It also usually needs a unique concept - a hook - just like any novel. That's why so many successful memoirs are based on a specific (often a universal) theme. #TenThingsAboutMemoir

8. Nigel Slater's memoir, TOAST, is a story of his boyhood, as seen through the lens of food and cooking. It's a very easy theme for readers to relate to on many different levels, which is why it works so well. #TenThingsAboutMemoir

9. @Peculiar's memoir, PAPERBOY, is a tale of a lonely boy growing up in suburban London during the 50s and 60s, surrounded by books, comics and films - it's very funny, and full of pop culture references, which is why it's so touching and entertaining. #TenThingsAboutMemoir

10. Successful memoir is partly about shared experience. One of the ways to avoid sounding self-obsessed is by acknowledging what you and your readers may have in common - and that usually means making yourself vulnerable, not building yourself up. #TenThingsAboutMemoir