There are many ways to start off a memoir, ranging from the conventional to the startling, the conversational to the literary, and the deceptively mundane to the outspokenly confrontational. Here’s a look at eight great techniques, with examples.

There are several ways to begin a military memoir, including starting as you head off to war, starting after you’ve retired and are looking back, starting by explaining why you joined up, and starting shortly after your enlistment has ended. A look at these techniques, with examples.

You can start a sports memoir at the moment you’re down and out, by describing a feeling no one else understands, just before the big event, and early in childhood, where it all began. A look at these techniques, with examples.

There are numerous ways to begin a political memoir, including at the moment when all seems lost, at a time of great crisis, with an interesting realization, and as your time in office is coming to an end. A look at these techniques, with examples.

Popular family memoirs often begin with a discussion of an object that hold memories, by describing what sets your and your family apart, with a recitation of family facts, and by talking about the thing that has loomed so very large in your family’s life. A look at these techniques, with examples.

Here are five examples of the opening paragraphs from popular celebrity memoirs. As you can see, some celebrity memoirs begin by highlighting the celeb’s persona, while other have tried to pull back the curtain to reveal the real person underneath it all.

Learn six bestselling techniques of beginning a memoir, including “make them wonder,” “make them smile,” “make them relate,” and “make they sympathize.” Includes examples of each of the six techniques, taken from popular books.