Post #190 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompts and Life Prompts – Matilda Butler
What’s an Overstory?
What’s an Understory?
“The forest is beginning to be revealed as the Strawberry Guave is being removed. … Understory planting will begin when the wet weather returns.” Kaye Lundberg
Kaye is a college classmate who lives on the Big Island. She’s a recently rediscovered friend as I never saw her after college. A big class reunion was in the planning and I noticed an email response from her to the organizers saying that she now lived in Hawaii and had been out of touch for all of these years.
Since I am a newly minted part-time resident on the island, I contacted her. And so began a resumption of a long dormant friendship. She invited me to her home in March and regaled me with stories about how her once-neglected property looked when she bought it decades ago. After pointing out native plants that she now grows, she mentioned that the understory was so dense when she first moved there that they did not even know that they had a view of the ocean.
I tucked away the word “understory.”
But I didn’t do anything with it. And although on my most recent trip to the Big Island, I didn’t have time to visit with Kaye, I did get an email talking about the progress she is making on forest land she recently bought. She is eager to reclaim the land and preserve the forest into the foreseeable future. She mentioned that the invasive strawberry guavas are now removed, and the understory planting will commence with the return of the rainy season.
Again the word understory.
I’ve had great fun conjuring with this word now for several months and thought I’d share it with you. A forest has multiple levels that are most frequently described as:
Overstory and Memoir
The four levels of a forest are mostly self-explanatory. Let’s focus on understory and overstory, the two that give us an interesting way to think about our writing. The overstory is where the crowns of most of the trees meet. They form a canopy or what you might think of as an umbrella. Liken this to your overarching theme. The theme that is the core or meeting point of the crowns of your story.
What is your theme? There are two schools of thought about theme. Some think it eventually emerges as you write. Some of these folks even suggest that you don’t know your theme until you have finished writing your story. Others (and I’m in this camp) think the theme, the universal of your story, needs up-front contemplation. With a theme in mind, you then are well on your way to knowing what to include and what to exclude in the way of individual stories or chapters. It provides a response to the frequently asked question, “How do I know when I’ve written enough?”
A theme is a universal that people can understand or identify with based on their own lives. They won’t have experienced your story but they understand it because of the larger theme. A theme might be: abuse, addiction, adoption, betrayal, career, caregiving, childhood, coming of age, forgiveness, mother-daughter relationship, redemption, survival, spiritual growth, etc.
Understory and Memoir
The understory in a forest is made up of smaller trees that get just enough light to grow successfully and yet remain in the protective cover of the overstory. None of them are large though to be part of the canopy themselves. Think of these as the stories or chapters you will write. No one chapter will stand as tall as the overstory or theme. Yet each points to the overarching theme.
Is all of this fixed? Of course not. You might begin your work with the thought that your tale is that of abuse but realize after some writing that you are really telling a story of spiritual growth. This insight will help you in the editing of the early sections and better focus you in the parts not yet written. But you are more likely to make real progress on fully understanding your theme if you are actively engaged in the discovery than if you wait until the end and assume you will know what it is.
Even the understory is not fixed. You might begin with a series of stories or scenes that enable you to lay out the story arc. As you write, you may see that additional ones or even different ones (I know, it is really hard to scrap a chapter you have written but sometimes it has to be done) are needed.
But beginning with a strong sense of your overstory and understory will save you a great deal of time in the future. So up front work on these two elements pays off down the road.
Memoir Writing Prompt:
1. Have you given consideration to your overstory — your theme? If not, write a brief synopsis of the story you want to tell. Then look at it from the perspective of universals. Do research on memoir themes. I have only listed a few above. Consider your story from the perspective of different themes. Does one theme work better than another? Would you tell the story differently if you felt your theme was A versus B?
2. Now consider your understory. Take the two or three themes that seem to best embody your story. What understory structure lets the theme unfold for the reader? Write the list of scenes or stories you would use with theme A versus B.
In doing this exercise, you will begin to get your arms around the story that you want to tell. Those sweet stories from your childhood that you have written might not belong in a book where the theme is about adult relationships. Of course, they might. That’s what is so marvelous about memoir. You have the opportunity to look inside yourself, examine the threads of your life, and share your insights with others who can learn from you and may be prompted to consider their own life experiences.
Back To My Friend
I so enjoy how life stories grow and change. My friend is now taking her love of the land in an additional direction. Her most recent email shared news of her new product line — raw honey.
“Interest in beekeeping and love of pure honey is how it all began but recent travel and great reviews have spurred our interest in developing a broader market for our product — HAMAKUA TREASURE from the spectacular Big Island of Hawaii, where the environment is pure and natural. Our bees forage for nectar in lush Ohi’a forests and macadamia nut tree groves to produce 100% pure, raw Hawaiian honey.”
By the way, my friend also has an apartment available for vacation stays. On her website, she writes:
“Farmstay Hawaii
Keolamauloa is a 4 acre family homestead located on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island, where the Lundburg/Tallett family of 3 generations share a working vision of sustainable living. Our respect for the past and investment in the future is the restoration of the native forest and wildlife habitat. For today we produce wholesome food for both our family and the community. We welcome guests to Keolamauloa and provide an apartment in the main house for a farm stay vacation or short term rental.Come experience the real beauty of Hamakua… E Komo Mai! (Welcome!)”
Aren’t longtime friendships beautiful?
