{"id":9041,"date":"2020-02-24T07:01:19","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T14:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/?p=9041"},"modified":"2020-02-23T14:02:10","modified_gmt":"2020-02-23T21:02:10","slug":"memoirs-as-textbooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/memoirs-as-textbooks\/","title":{"rendered":"Memoirs As Textbooks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Use a published memoir as a textbook to write your memoir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the memoir. Read it again to examine structure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice where author used narration vs. dialogue to tell the\nstory. Notice the balance between fast-paced action scenes and slower,\ncontemplative scenes. Note when and how backstory is used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s use Angela\u2019s Ashes<\/a><\/em> by Frank McCourt as our textbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCourt\u2019s ability to write as if experiencing events as they\nunfold, pacing, and his strong writing voice made Angela\u2019s Ashes<\/em> a New\nYork Times beloved best seller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angela\u2019s Ashes<\/em> takes the reader on an emotional journey.\nThere is so much vulnerability in this book. McCourt reaches into our\ncompassionate hearts as he tells his story, moving from childhood to adulthood.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He weaves details into a story, similar to the Glass\nCastle<\/em> by Jeannette Walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCourt taps into universal messages and themes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding your theme will help to write your memoir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possible themes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being different\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poverty <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming of age\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alcohol\/drug use <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despair <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dignity <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disease<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethnicity\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feeling helpless <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not fitting in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technique<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCourt uses a variety of techniques to create intimacy in\nhis themed books of children in poverty in Ireland. He changes his writing\nvoice and tone to match his age progression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He employs rhythm and repetition, keeping the thread of the theme\/plot\nrunning throughout the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He \u201cshows\u201d situations so that readers understand what is going\non. There is a lot that doesn\u2019t get said. For example, when Frank\u2019s\nsibling dies, and when a friend\u2019s sister dies, there are no death scenes.\nRather, there is action and dialogue seen through the lens of children. This is\none method of avoiding too much tragedy: Keep it fast paced and use humor where\nyou can. No woe is me, no pity-parties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When writing about unsavory characters, use compassion and\nfind redemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These ideas are based on a webinar by Linda Jo Myers<\/a> and Brooke Warner<\/a>, intertwined with my thoughts and observations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another example of going deep in writing and willing to be vulnerable about a difficult subject is \u201cMeeting My Father,\u201d which I wrote and published in The Write Spot: Memories<\/a><\/em>. I have written in my journal about my father for over thirty years. After a series of fortunate experiences, I had the epiphany that he was more than a Third Street bum and more than just a sperm donor. I was able to give him the loving tribute I felt he deserved, even though I do not have one good memory of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More thoughts about writing memoir:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Write Memoir in Voice of Narrator<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Your Memoir Have A Theme?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mini Memoirs Unfold Naturally<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Use a published memoir as a textbook to write your memoir. Read the memoir. Read it again to examine structure. Notice where author used narration vs. dialogue to tell the story. Notice the balance between fast-paced action scenes and slower, contemplative scenes. Note when and how backstory is used. Let\u2019s use Angela\u2019s Ashes by Frank […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[126],"tags":[1344,674,1343,1345,657,1347,117,1346],"class_list":["post-9041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-just-write-2","tag-angelas-ashes","tag-brooke-warner","tag-frank-mccourt","tag-glass-castle","tag-jeannette-walls","tag-linda-jo-myers","tag-memoir","tag-writing-memoir"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43Dj8-2lP","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9041"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9051,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9041\/revisions\/9051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}