Post #11 – Memoir and Fiction, Writing Alchemy – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
It’s Sunday. Actually it’s a beautiful Sunday here in Downeast Maine. I’m working on several projects this weekend but a sales page for Riparian Press is top on my list. I’m 
going outside and make one last effort to remove the rusted bolts on the bottom of my John Deere’s mowing deck so I can change the blades. I promised Matilda I wouldn’t spend long on this because I wasted all day yesterday on lawn mower maintenance. But I sprayed the bolts with WD-40 yesterday afternoon and want to see if it’s had any affect. If not, I’m taking the mowing deck to the dealer on Tuesday and let them `rassle with it.
Memoirs have characters too!
Before I head out, I wanted to share a video I found on YouTube. It’s Joyce Carol Oates talking about characters. I’ve embedded the short version below. You can find the whole presentation here on Fora.tv where she is talking about The Gravedigger’s Daughter.
Matilda and I believe that character development is critical to good memoir writing. I know that as memoirists you’re writing about real people, but they still need to be fully developed, interesting, believable and excite emotion. Memoir writers can learn a lot from fiction writers who know how to create powerful, engaging characters.
Oates talks about setting as being almost like a character to her. I find that interesting and I agree with her.
Short post today, so without further ado, here’s the video:
Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone.
PS: Many of you know that Matilda and I have been creating our Writing in Five videos in anticipation of our Writing Alchemy book. We’ve been enjoying the video development process. It’s fun. It’s also a powerful tool in your marketing plan. I’ll be creating several posts in the near future on the power of video and what you need to know to get started. It’s easier than you might think.
on characters
Joyce Carol Oates
memoir
memoir writing
video
