Post #83 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Thoughts on Memoir
The other day I was listening to a conversation. I’ve had the habit forever of eavesdropping on nearby diners at restaurants. I can even carry on a conversation with my dinner partner and still figure out the “story” of the adjacent table. After a meal, my husband has been known to ask, “So, what’s their story?”
You may have the same propensity. That was the old me. Now I listen to conversations in order to constantly learn about dialogue. How do people actually speak? How long can they go without an interruption from the other person? How do two versus three versus four people interact in a focused discussed? What about side conversations? There are good books on this subject and these alert you to techniques that you need to understand such as using dialogue to move the the storyline forward. But I suggest that you develop an ear for dialogue by simply listening.
In general, dialogue is a series of bursts. You are lucky if you even get a complete sentence out before you are interrupted. But there’s an exception for storytelling. During my eavesdropping the other day, I didn’t learn anything about dialogue because there were no interruptions and hence no discussion. But the story itself caused me to think. This is the way I remember what the woman said to her friend:
A young boy walked over to a man and stood watching him fish for a few minutes. After a while he said, “I bet I can throw a rock into the lake and my dog will bring it back. If he does, can I have your fishing pole?
“How will I know it’s the same rock?”
“Well, I’ll mark it with an X.”
“OK. Sure. I don’t think your dog could possibly find the rock so I’ll bet you not just my pole but all my fishing gear.”
The boy picked up a rock, pulled a pen out of his pocket, marked the rock with an X, threw it into the lake, and shouted “Go fetch.” The dog scampered across the ground and jumped into the water and soon came back with the rock.
The man looked at it in disbelief but honored his bet, giving the boy all his equipment.
How did the boy train his dog to do this amazing feat? What the man didn’t know was that the boy had spent the previous several days marking rocks with Xs and tossing them into the exact same place in the lake. What seemed to be miraculous was actually a matter of a lot of patience and determination.
The Point of this Story in Relation to Memoir
The story of the boy’s success at getting fishing gear for free made me think of some authors you read or hear about who seem to get an agent easily, or find a publisher quickly, or get a six-figure advance, or get big sales toting books around in the trunk of their car — talking book stores into taking them. There is no magic. What is required is months and probably years of marking stones with Xs. And today, we have to include the additional steps for a 21st century author, building a presence on the Internet through a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and whatever comes next.
MEMOIR WRITING PROMPT
Just as the young boy threw stones day after day, you need to use today to prepare for tomorrow and tomorrow to prepare for the next day. Following are two different prompts to move you in this direction. The first focuses on your book manuscript and the second on marketing. Do one or both. Keep marking the stones and tossing them — but with a plan.
1. Take one page from your manuscript. For this prompt, begin with the first page. Read through it. Just one page, not the entire chapter. Then read it out loud. Listen to the words. Now imagine a reader has just opened your published book and is reading this page. Read it again, but as if you are that reader who only knows what is on that page. Now, take a deep breath and reflect on those three readings. Fine tune your opening. Look for word precision. Look for interest or drama. Look for the beginning of your story arc — where your story is going. Are you hooking the reader? Look for the tone you are establishing. Polish your stone/page. Then read it again out loud. Do the words sound right to your ear? Tomorrow, take the second page of your manuscript and repeat this activity.
2. You need a marketing plan whether you intend to self-publish, use a small independent publisher, or seek a larger publishing house. The marketing plan goes in your book proposal and along with the description of your book is probably the most important element because publishers need to know that the book will sell and that you understand what it takes to get sales. For this prompt, however, let’s just consider one of the marketing tools — YouTube. Below are links to several book trailers. In addition to watching these, or instead, search:
http://YouTube.com
for “memoir book trailer.” Look at a few that interest you. Then write a one page script for a book trailer to your memoir. A single spaced script is about right for a book trailer. No one wants to watch for long. Think about the visuals you would use. Jot them down. Why think about the trailer now? It will help you focus your thinking on your theme and message as well as how you will intrigue readers to purchase you book.
Book trailer for the memoir Thin Places.
Book trailer for the memoir Identical Strangers
Book trailer for the memoir Lit.
Book trailer for the memoir The Memory Palace.
NOTE: Here are two book trailers for the same memoir. The same script was used but the visuals are different. Which one do you like? Why do you think two were created?
Two book trailers for the memoir Harlot’s Sauce.
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