Post #4 – Memoir and Fiction, Writing Alchemy – Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett
Continuing our exploration into books about writing, I discuss the importance of crafting stories that draw on minute details in the video below. This lesson is draw from a book by Brenda Ueland called If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit
If you have been following our Writing in Five series, you know that we started with audios. This week we decided to switch to videos. We’re still exploring our format and will probably make a few more changes in the coming months.
The one thing that will not change is our emphasis on sharing with you advice from writers who have written about the process of writing. There are wonderful books on the market and we want to share, in about five minute nuggets, some of this advice.
Many writers find it tempting to create composites from a number of similar situations. Ueland says that we need to observe closely and then write the details of what we now know. From this attention to specifics, or what Ueland calls particulars, a type of universal does emerge. We hope this video will offer you new inspiration as you write.
You’ll notice that the cover of this version is not the same as the one I show in the video. I have an older copy. It is the same book. I am especially taken with Ueland’s book because she shows such faith in her students’ ability to write when they get past the pretense of writing and begin to write what they know, whether for fiction or memoir.
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Writing Alchemy
