A wonderful evening of conversation with a group of McGill Alumni in Toronto. I had the opportunity to speak for half an hour and then to answer questions for another hour. What a privilege for a writer to spend that amount of time with a group (over 30) who know one's book and want to talk about it.
Each format for a reading or presentation is different and I stayed pretty flexible because what I was requested to do was quite open-ended. The closer the event became, the more time I was given to present and/or speak at the beginning. When the time came, I spoke with a couple of short readings interspersed when they fit what I was talking about. For instance, I talked about a character who popped into the book in the final revision quite spontaneously. I was surprised and not sure what to do with Marcel, the ten year old boy, but he demanded to be there. So he stayed and wound his way through the book as I proceeded with the final revisions. The section I read was about his first appearance next to a rock where Nick, a man who had returned to the town for a visit, was sitting deep in thought.
Ah yes, Marcel appeared on the page fully formed and demanded to be there. I have no idea where he came from, except I wrote him. Writing is sometimes such a mysterious process. One has to be open for what arrives. And then there are all the hours of sheer work as while something may present itself spontaneously, one then has to work with it.
In any case, this book club was one of my best experiences and I will cherish it for a long time. An honour to have been asked and to have met with so many others from my Alma Mater for the evening.
1. READ.
William Zinsser's Writing About Your Life is a particularly helpful book to read if you are contemplating writing a memoir. Also, read lots of memoirs. As you learn about the life of someone who interests you, you can also see how that person tells his/her story.What makes it interesting? That may help you decide what it is that makes your life interesting that you can make into an appealing story for your readers.
Pick a point in time at which to start. This does not have to be in chronological sequence. In the same way a novel may go back and forth in time, so can a memoir.
2. WRITE.
At some point, it is necessary to start writing. At the beginning, get things down. You can choose what to keep later when you have thought about what stands out about your life. And what story you want to tell about it. You will have to decide what to include and what not to include. It is important not to include everything.
3. REVISE.
You have to create a narrative of your life. writer of a memoir doesn't simply try to convey every detail of an entire life, but has to select what is important to the narrative chosen. And to tell a compelling story.
Everyone has a story, but do you have a reason for wanting to share it? It might turn out that your reason is the hook for your readers. And provides you with the thematic unity your story requires.
Note: It may be presumptuous of me to try to convey how to write a memoir when mine has yet to be published. However, I've almost finished it and what I have learned thus far is fresh in my mind and may be helpful. And I have had both a short story collection and a novel published.
Good luck with it!
