Post #36 – Memoir and Fiction, Writing Alchemy – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
By my count, on any given day I receive between 300 and 400 emails. Was that a collective gasp I just heard? I know some of you even unsubscribe from our once a week blogcast digest when you’re feeling overwhelmed and want to see the activity in your inbox return to something approaching sane and manageable. My mail stream would probably drive you nuts.
"Kick up your heels...live a little!"
Not me. I have an insatiable desire to know what’s going on. What’s new in technology? Who’s got an idea that I might apply with a fresh twist to our work at Women’s Memoirs? I literally never know where an idea is going to come from. And here’s my secret: Some days when I’m busy I don’t take the time to read or even scan everything. I delete a lot of emails after reading nothing more than the subject line. Don’t deny yourself information…just be ruthless in your efforts to get through it all.
The Morning Reading Ritual: Email Before Cat Breakfasts
Each morning when I wake up–usually to the stomping of 12 little feet–I reach for my iPad to read the first wave of morning emails. My cats Angus, Sabrina and Sammy start their dance anywhere between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. I call it their, “feed me, I’m yours” dance. They walk on my head, perform the tarantella on my stomach or tickle my nose with their whiskers. I try to hold out and keep my eyes shut as long as possible. But they always win…just not right away.
My eyes snap open. But instead of swinging my legs out of bed and stumbling to the kitchen to serve up treats for my furry little friends, they must wait as I reach for my iPad and check email. I’ll often start with marketing guru Seth Godin’s e-pistle. I can rely on it being short, sweet and to the point. And sometimes quite brilliant. This morning was no exception. He titled it, simply, “Conflict.”
Seth was focused on the internal battle that goes on in our heads as we try to settle a conflict with ourselves. Should we eat the chocolate cake and put in an extra hour at the gym or just have a cup of coffee? Should we get the iPad 3 when it comes out or keep using our original one and wait for the iPad 4? Should we keep the ancient Jeep on the road one more year (maybe even have the dent in the door fixed and the interior detailed) or save 15 percent on that shiny new Wrangler pictured in the flyer that came in the mail?
Seth’s point is that we make dozens, maybe even 100s, of decisions each day that cause us to take action. He says the process of working through these internal conflicts is the sales job our “I” is performing on our “me.” And he concludes with the thought that, “Successful people have discovered how to be better at self marketing.”
Using Internal Conflict in Memoir to Create Greater Depth and Complexity in Characters
Well, this got me to thinking about the cartoons I watched as a kid. I’m sure you remember them. The character is trying to decide whether to
"You know you want to do what's right."
indulge his worst nature or show self control and do the right thing. A cartoon angel would sit on one shoulder and make her best case and plead to his better nature while a cartoon devil replete with pitchfork sat on the other shoulder and encouraged our conflicted one to throw caution to the wind and do what feels good.
And then it hit me…this internal conflict is another dimension of bringing interest and insight to the characters in our writing. Are we really selling ourselves? Are we aware of the battle for our heart and mind that goes on each time we make a decision? Could we, as memoir writers, capture this internal conflict and present it to our readers as one more way to engage them in our stories, in our characters, and to empower readers by showing rather than telling the process?
A quick Google search gave me my answer: Yes. Kim H. Peres has a post, entitled “Story Events Prompt Character Internal Conflicts,” on The Screenwrightist blog. She suggests that triggers for internal conflict can be physical, emotional and mental. We can be hungry, feel a wave of sadness or overhear something, and that’s all it takes to get us thinking and drive internal conflict as we try to resolve the issue. We make our best case to ourselves, and what we do will probably either result in us giving in, indulging, avoiding or displaying our better nature or self control.
As you write in your memoir about decisions you made, see if you can get inside your head and recall the internal conflict. Were you tempted by other paths, other decisions than the one you chose? Writing about this–showing what you went through–can help to explain motivation and behavior and tighten the bond between you and your readers.
Do a Google search on Internal Conflict; you’ll find a wealth of useful information.
