We all have stories
to tell. However, we do not necessarily know what they are and why they are
important. Writing can help us see why our stories matter, and why we feel a
sense of urgency to tell them. Carefully considered, our stories can shed light
on our moral assignments.
Mary Pipher, Writing to Change the World
Memoir is more than simply slapping a story on a
journal page. Like all writing, it involves discipline, dedication, and process.
There are as many ways to write, as many practices and techniques, as there are
writers, but in the end a solid memoir is a well-written story with universal
appeal.
A good memoir
requires two elements – one of art, the other of craft. The first is integrity
of intention … Memoir is how we try to make sense of who we are, who we once
were, and what values and heritage shaped us. If a writer seriously embarks on
that quest, readers will be nourished by the journey, bringing along many
associations with quests of their own.
The other element is
carpentry. Good memoirs are a careful act of construction … Memoir writers must
manufacture a text, imposing narrative order on a jumble of half-remembered
events. With that feat of manipulation they arrive at a truth that is theirs
alone, not quite like that of anybody else who was present at the same events.
William Zinsser, Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir
Memoir is truth, the writer’s truth. As we write, we remind
ourselves that we are telling our own truth, that we are being as honest as we
are capable of being, that there is rarely just one singular truth.
The memoir is not and
should never be confused with the truth. The very act of writing creates a
literary construct: alteration is inevitable. As a result, truth belongs to the
teller. Truth is relative to the teller.
Laura Kalpakian, The Memoir Club
Next Saturday, November 16, I have the pleasure of
joining a panel of three other memoirists to explore memoir from inspiration to
publication. Allan Ament, Margaret Bendet, Judith Works, and I will discuss
topics ranging from techniques for generating ideas and methods for drafting
and organizing to publishing options in today’s changing
landscape. I hope you’ll join us.
135 N
Washington Ave, Arlington WA 98223-1422
Saturday,
November 16, 2016
2:00 – 3:30
pm
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