Posted by Kathleen Pooler/@kathypooler
Author’s Note: I am honored to be presenting this previous post as part of Denis Ledoux’s The Memoir Network’s Blog Carnival in preparation for “November is Lifewriting Month” (NILM):
“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” Michelangelo
Photo Credit: Rock uploaded from istockphoto
As I look at my pile of stories waiting to be shaped into a memoir, I find myself pondering the task.
I’ve come to the conclusion that memoir writers are really like sculptors.
* We start with an amorphous pile of vignettes like a sculptor starts with a slab of marble.
* We spend endless hours looking at the pile before us and envisioning what its final shape will be.
* We study our craft ahead of time so we know where to start, what tools to use and how to keep going.
* We keep digging and carving into our pile until it begins to take shape.
A sculptor starts with a slab of marble and a vision. We start with a collection of stories, generated by various methods. Here are a few I have learned and used:
1. Identifying turning points (Linda Joy Myers) listing key life events along a timeline.
2. Mind mapping – a hand-sketched or software-generated diagram of ideas and events.
3.” Place I’ve Lived” exercise (Jerry Waxler) – compilation of “scene pops” from describing all the homes you have lived in.
4. “The Tree of Me” Exercise (Sharon Lippincott) a drawing of concentric circles rippling from the core of you, resembling the rings of a tree. Each ring represents a significant date and events. From this visual, threads and patterns can be identified. As you can see from mine, it can get convoluted and cluttered:
My “Tree of Me” drawing
5. Patchwork Quilt- think of your story as a patchwork quilt with each square representing a scene in the story. You start out by collecting the squares until you are ready to sew them into a pattern.
There is debate in writing circles about approaches to story structure called Planner or Pantser.
Do you work from an outline (planner) or do you “fly by the seat of your pants” (pantser)?
For the purposes of defining story structure, I am a planner.
When I reached the point of readiness to pull my stories together into a first draft, I had a general sense of my story, I wanted to leave myself open to new discoveries as I sifted, sorted, rearranged the pieces and envisioned where my story would take me. I’d heard that one shouldn’t even worry about the beginning or end until the rewrite, the next step after the first draft.
Dave Hood, Author of Find Your Creative Muse blog describes narrative structure in creative nonfiction as “the sequence of events and the way in which a writer tells the story,” citing a variety of frameworks that can be used.
Linda Joy Myers points out that “a memoir is a story, created and constructed with skill and focus” and requires a “story structure and narrative arc that includes three acts of dramatic structure.” She goes on to reinforce the importance of identifying “your main meaning of your story, what the book is about in one sentence (pitch) and what will the reader gain from reading your story.” Show the transformation.
Rachelle Gardner brings up the importance of writing “real-world stories with a plot, scenes with action and dialogue rather than chronicling a series of devastating emotional events. Make sure your book has a protagonist with a choice to face (a conflict), obstacles to overcome, a desired outcome and consequences (the stakes) if the goal is not reached.”
Memoirist Meghan Ward emphasizes the importance of having a strong story arc early on as you write.
Like a sculptor needs carving tools to shape a creation, I needed a plan to fit my story into, keeping the above goals in mind about story and theme:
Annie Lamott spread her papers in a trail on the floor and rearranged them until they made sense to her as described in her writing instruction book, Bird by Bird.
Stephen King described his office space as covered in post-it notes with ideas and phrases in his memoir, On Writing.
David Price advises that “you won’t see what the story is actually about until you’re at the end” in his book, The Pixar Touch and cites the following framework for storytelling:
“Once upon a time there was…Every day… One day…Because of that…Because of that…Until finally…”
Joseph Campbell believes we are all on a mythic journey, a “Hero’s Journey.” His framework recognizes a triggering event that propels the hero into action through” the dark night of the soul” where many obstacles must be overcome until resolution /transformation is achieved. Enjoy this YouTube video.
Author and Writing Coach Mary Carroll Moore uses the W Storyboard Structure which provides the framework for plotting out the story in the shape of a W, using three acts, starting with the triggering event going to the first turning point, building to a climax, second turning point then moving forward toward resolution/realization/transformation. She reviews it in more detail here.
Storyboarding is the method I had chosen to start sculpting my story. I began by writing vignette summaries on colored post-it notes and placing them on a trifold poster board for Acts One, Two and Three, incorporating key points from Mary Carroll’s W Storyboard Structure and Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey framework.
“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to other eyes as mine sees it.” Michelangelo
Like the master sculptor, Michelangelo, we all need tools to “hew away the rough walls” that would imprison the “lovely apparition” of the story we need to tell.
How about you? Have you envisioned your masterpiece?
What methods have you used to discover your story? What methods appeal to you?
I’d love to hear from you. Please leave your comments below~
Announcement: Congratulations, Louise Mathewson! Your name was selected in a random drawing of commenters to receive Shirley Showalter’s memoir, Blush.
This Week:
Wednesday, October 9: ” How I Found My Memoir Searching for My Roots”, a guest post by Paige Strickland.
Friday, October 11: “Memoir Writing Tips by Denis Ledoux: Describing Characters in a Memoir Can be Easy Enough.”
You’ve packed this post to the brim with useful tools Kathy. Readers can learn more about The Tree of Me technique in the blog post I wrote on the topic. I’m also a huge fan of Michelangelo’s chipping away concept.
Some tools in your array seem to contradict each other, which goes to show there is no “one way.” We each find our way along the path by trying various techniques. Stick with what works and learn from the ones that don’t. They’ll be perfect for someone else.
Hi Sharon, Thanks for stopping by and providing the specific link to the “Tree of Me”
exercise. I’m still using the information from your class. I agree, there are so many useful tools out there and people have to pick and choose what works best for them. It was a thrill to see Michaelangelo’s Pieta in person when I was in Italy!
You know how much I love metaphor/simile and the memoir/sculpture image works for me. At the moment my stories are posted in a rather random fashion as they come to me intuitively. Odd for me, as my modus operandi is typically linear and sequential.
Perhaps using the storyboard structure you suggested by Mary Carroll Moore will be my next step to discover the arc of my story. Incidentally, Nina Amin gives the same advice in How to Blog a Book. One thing for sure, my story will be told using visual and verbal methods. Very useful post, Kathy. Thank you!
Hi Marian, How nice to see you back here! I’m happy you enjoyed the post.I found Mary Carroll Moore’s W-Story Board method to be very useful in mapping out my narrative arc, which ended up changing over time. It was very helpful for me to visualize my story. There is a link to her video in the post. Best wishes in your writing and hope to hear about your updates!
Kathy, this post is full to the brim with ideas, exercises, and advice from some of the greatest in our genre. You asked about “pantser vs. planner.” I’m a little of both. I love my mind map that I’ve been using, but when I sit to write, it’s whatever memory that is on my mind that day that I write about. If more than one comes along, I do make post-its then to make sure I don’t forget to include that vignette.
I totally agree with something Sharon said. I don’t believe there is any “one way” to write our stories. I think that we have to find what fits us as a writer and just go with it. Write on!
Hi Sherrey, I think I’m both a planner and a pantser too,though I do lean more toward planner. It’s good to shake it up once in a while and try a variety of methods. Being spontaneous can have its benefits as well when it comes to following our muse! I agree with both you and Sharon, there’s no one way to tackle this. So happy you enjoyed the post and , as always, Î appreciate you stopping by to share your perspective. Thank you!!
Lots of different perspectives on memoir writing … the one that resonated most with me was David Price’s comment that you “won’t see what the story is actually about until you’re at the end.” In fact, five years after my memoir came out, I’m still learning what it was about!
How true, Mary. It seems the learning never ends or maybe we just keep increasing our awareness with time and experience. I always enjoy your insights, Mary. Thanks for stopping by.