Auto Page: Autofiction in Memoir

What happens when our memory fails or if we only have the blurred details of a moment? We can attempt an auto page, using autofiction to bridge the gaps in our memory.

What An Auto Page Brings to the Memoir

When we write a memoir, we have the task of balancing fact and memory in narrating a truthful and compelling story. But memories are mostly unreliable. We select the memories we include in the memoir.

Autofiction is about imagining scattered and fragmented memories into accessible moments. In writing moments into autofiction, we fill the gaps in our selective memory. We are not creating a new story, but enhancing the storytelling.

In reimagining moments, we strive to keep the essence of the experience intact. We can reconstruct conversations, build composite characters, or create vivid scenes. These enhancements strive for deeper engagement and perspective instead of alienating raw and unfiltered facts.

Challenges of Writing the Auto Page

We want to emphasize that what we are writing is creative non-fiction. But in writing the memoir, an auto page is sometimes necessary. If we are writing about events that involve complex relationships or conversations we remember only partially, autofiction can help.

Readers trust that our memoir will be transparent, reflecting our authentic experiences. In an auto page, we reconstruct interactions using the devices of fiction to relive the moment. We imagine people, time, and places by capturing their essence in our fictional telling.

We can start by identifying the parts of our story that need more detail than our memory can provide. We can sketch out scenes or interactions we wish to expand on and think about how we can apply autofiction.

For example, we reconstruct an emotional scene that is now a blur. Any fictional elements we will use to do this should serve our narrative and not deviate from it. An auto page offers us a way to push past the limits of strict retelling. It helps us tell the story when some details are beyond recall.

Staying Authentic With Autofiction

Readers of memoirs understand that stories are not mere accounts of facts. However, they expect an honest sharing of experience as it was lived and felt. An auto page invites readers to engage with the story’s emotional truth, making the narrative relatable.

Autofiction should be organically woven within this tapestry of honest telling. Sometimes, we can even signal our turn to autofiction, through a note, or some subtle cues in the narrative. An effective auto page protects identities and sensitive issues. Readers will have a channel into the real, through shifts in style or structure. The real resonates clearly and they can access the experience.

The important thing is to remember that an auto page is not an embellishment but a device for engaging storytelling that stays true to our core story. Autofiction mirrors remembering in imagining details that interpret an experience. There is no trickery here, but only an application of the art and craft of language.