Dialog in a memoir: “So what did you say?”

Dialog is important in a memoir because it allows us to “hear” the subject, but using dialog is also fraught with problems. It can throw your memoir off.

Pitfalls of using dialog in a memoir

Essentially, most writers use dialog that is too long. A memoir, of course, is a remembered story. When the writer uses lengthy dialog in a memoir, s/he stretches credulity. The reader questions whether the writer is actually making the dialog up—how can the writer who is now 60 possibly remember such l...