Post #29 – Memoir and Fiction, Writing Alchemy – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Vitamins are Necessary: BCDE Diet
Recently I picked up The Oregonian and read about the importance of certain vitamins to maintain a healthy mind. The article stated that diets with a large amount of trans fats lead to brain shrinkage. However, when older adults were studied, the researchers found that people who consumed a large amount of vitamins B, D, C and E scored higher on mental performance tests AND showed less brain shrinkage than those who consumed low amounts of these vitamins.
Here’s what we should all be eating:
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
Vitamin B9 (Folate)
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Memoir Writing Tip: Writamins are Necessary, The BCDE Diet
This article got me thinking about the Writamins needed in our stories — needed to give them better performance. I came up with the following list. Hope it helps you and your memoir writing. You can try including these Writamins:
Writamin B: Beginnings. Every vignette, chapter, book needs a strong beginning. Start with a placeholder Writamin B. Then as you write, you may find you can improve it. This is the one time to get to grab your reader and make her want to stay with you on your life journey.
Writamin C: Characters. The people in your story, your characters, are the life of your story. This is especially true of you — the star of the story. Yet you may not be taking nearly enough Writamin C. If your characterizations are weak, then your story will seem to shrink. Physical description is just the start of C. Don’t forget about personality and psychological dynamics.
Writamin D: Dialogue. Why do you need to include dialogue? Dialogue moves your story forward, brings life to the page, reveals character. Be sure to include plenty of Writamin D.
Writamin E: Endings. As Kendra likes to say, “Don’t let the air out of your tires at the end.” Be sure you craft a strong ending. Here are four Writamin Es to consider:
Writamin E1: Back to the Beginning At the end of a memoir vignette or book, you may want to return to your opening theme. The visual image might be of a circle with you taking the reader back to your beginning but with more insight or reflection.
Example: Jill Ker Conway’s The Road from Coorain.
Writamin E2: The Calendar If your memoir follows a linear timeline, then the ending will be quite a distance from your beginning. In framing your ending, in preparing for it, decide at which moment in time you will conclude your story. Try to not let the story fade away. Let there be a distinctive end that might offer insight for the reader.
Example: Linda Kaplan’s My First Crush.
Writamin E3: The Reward As a reader, you invest time in getting through a 100 or 200 or 300 page book. At the end of that time, you have earned a reward. As the writer, you need to provide that reward. The type of reward will depend on the type of memoir you are writing. In general, you might consider: a life lesson learned or a summary of several lessons learned, the revelation of a personal insight (not a lesson, just gained knowledge).
Examples:
Gretel Ehrlich’s A Match to the Heart.
Jennifer Olsson’s Fly Fishing the River of Second Chances.
Writamin E4: The Crystal Ball Writing a memoir is all about looking back. We write about what happened when. Even when we write about our emotions or turning points, these have already taken place and their impact is already known. Consider an ending that is bigger than an ending. It is also a beginning.
Examples:
Susan Johnson’s A Better Woman.
Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett’s Rosie’s Daughters: The “First Woman To” Generation Tells Its Story
Background
Kendra and I are in the last stage of work on Writing Alchemy: Turning Words into Gold. As we edit the final pages, we realize there is so much more than we want to share with you that just won’t fit in the book. Besides, we both continue to read and will find nuggets that we’d like to share.
So, although our book isn’t yet available, we will post bits and pieces that you’ll find relevant to your memoir writing. You won’t have our system in front of you, but some of these nuggets just may spark insight while others are intended to help with specific writing tips to improve your craft of memoir writing.
Hope you like today’s writing tip. Be sure to leave your thoughts below in our Comments section.
