Want to Grow as a Writer? Read! (Plus, a review of The Art of Memoir)
Good news! Writing is a skill like any other, which means that it can be developed.
One of the many benefits of hiring an editor is the chance to sharpen your abilities with someone who operates, on one level, like a personal coach. With a good editor, you receive custom insights on how best to refine not only how you put words on the page but also grow in your practices of self-discovery and communication in general. Of course, not every occasion calls for an editor. There are many ways to develop your writing muscles: join a writing circle, take a class…read books.
Let me repeat that for emphasis: read books!
Reading in the realm of what interests you is one of the most valuable (and economical!) ways of honing your abilities. Just be advised: reading in your genre is probably a much better use of your time than reading about it. Books promising to teach you how to write abound. For memoir alone there are an abundance of well-intended books trying to pick the bones of how to.
(at the end of this blog and in future installments, I will review such books to help you make informed decisions about your personal writerly development.)
True, you can glean valuable insights from instructional books, but for my druthers your return on investment will pale in comparison to the full-bodied lessons you can digest by sitting down at the feast of a good writer at work doing the work.
Reading, for a writer, is a critical avenue to gaining wisdom…
and experience, as they say, is your best teacher. How did you learn to speak? Put on clothes? Play a sport? Odds are that your learning was largely accomplished by observation (regardless of the words of instruction which may have attended it). As a writer, your biggest observational tool is reading.
If you have been in a writing class, you may have learned for yourself how hard it can be to say why one author (or line of text) stands out from those around her (it). I spent many an hour in MFA workshops watching long debates conclude with axiomatic surrenders to the claim, “it just works!”
But when you are reading, your unconscious can pick up insights and form instincts concerning “what works” which your executive brain, quite ironically, can’t always put into words. Reading helps you to get past your rational mind and intuit answers to questions like “what subject matter most appeals to me?” and “what styles of delivery most resonate with me?” and “how do I want—need—to write?”
All this being said, there is a time and a place for books on craft.
As promised, I now turn my attention to one such book, The Art of Memoir, by Mary Karr. This is the first in a series of essays in which I will review books on how to write memoir. I will also eventually offer recommendations for good memoirs to read. Stay tuned!
Many good insights can be distilled from Karr’s book. I feel a bit disappointed at the disproportionate number of pages which she exhausts on confessing that truth and memory are slippery but then trying to rassle those pigs, anyway. Still, Karr’s initial and central point is well-taken:
Paraphrased, she says that when you, dear writer, decide to take on the creature of memoir, be forewarned that you are initiating a wrestling match with the full, glorious, ever-shifting beastliness of your past, present, and future self, and not just that creature but your equally undomesticable friends and loved ones.
Moving right past the excessive name-dropping Karr indulges in, and her occasional digressions, I appreciate the “it’s tough, but you can do it” tone and approach she employs. In this respect the book reminded me a bit of Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird (which I plan to reread and review soon).
Perhaps the best part of Karr’s book is chapter 22, “An Incomplete Checklist to Stave Off Dread.” Amazingly these three, simple pages condense most of Karr’s best points. What you find here in bullet form, she expands on with varying degrees of helpfulness in 200+ extra pages, but you might well visit your library, read this chapter, and walk away with all of Karr’s best teachings on memoir.
She also spends time on her version of my own biggest piece of advice (read!) as she looks closely at several famous memoirs, including Vladimir Nabokov’s Speak, Memory, Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, and Dispatches, by Michael Herr. But for my money, her reflections can be a bit too personalized and insistent, so you might be better off simply reading those books for yourself, along with the other memoirs Kerr mentions.
In the remainder of her book, Karr does expand on some aspects of memoir writing in helpful ways, and they are worth mentioning. For example:
Writerly motives. Quite insightful is Karr’s interrogation of your reasons for writing a memoir, and whether you are prepared for the probably-daunting task.
Voice. How do you unearth and embrace your unique voice? This is crucial, because this (not the narrative) is the primary bearer of your story’s meaning.
Character. As with voice, Karr exhorts you to discover and embrace you.
A cautionary note I will add is that “learn by reading” comes with a natural danger of wishing to replicate what you admire. Eventually we all need to detach, just as we do from parents and authorities, and grow into confidence and love for our own, unique and irreplaceable writerly identity.
Internal Conflict and Interiority. Karr astutely takes time to explore what it looks like to discover the true stakes—the true story—of your story. This, I think, is a particularly valuable insight.
If I were to put Karr’s thoughts in my own words, I would say that memoir is (not universally but often) an accidental tour of your life. A trip that even you did not know you were signing up for.
In other words, even if you intend to take people on a guided tour of your own little Disney World, you may find it much more enriching to allow yourself to discover your inner Jurassic Park. Growth, discovery, and compelling storytelling come alive when your own writing is just as likely to eat you as it is to devour your readers.
Focus on the Senses and Generating Details. Karr offers some Creative Writing 101 tips as she reminds aspiring writers how important it is to show, not tell.
I suspect that this may be a particular challenge for memoirists. When we attempt to tell our own stories, we already have quite vivid mental pictures. It can be a struggle to remember that no one reading our words has those snapshots available to fill in physical, emotional, or relational details.
A little thing: Karr repeatedly uses the word “carnality” and then says she does not mean sex. I believe a better word choice would have been “sensuousness,” because she is talking about sensory detail.
Generating Details, then Picking Which to Keep. Karr offers tips on how to develop habits of awareness and capturing that awareness through creative journaling. She also acknowledges the challenge of determining what belongs in your story.
Absolutely do whatever you can to get more engaged with your surroundings, and practice putting those sensations down in any way you can possible think of.
When it comes to refining your story, I say, write more than you think you need, and leave it to beta readers and/or editors to help you identify what resonates most strongly. We, the writer, often struggle to discern just what needs to be in (and doesn’t).
The Time it Takes to Tell Your Story. I don’t recall if I have ever read another craft book that addresses this. Karr makes a very good point that if you want to do real, serious digging in the form of memoir, prepare to be at it for potentially a loooong time. And know that it’s worth it.
Real World Consequences. Here is another area where I think Karr is on point. Who shows up in your story? How will the wider world respond? Karr gives memoirists-to-be very important questions to ponder concerning impact—if and when your story hits the market, or even if it doesn’t–on your loved ones and yourself.
Come back often to check for future reviews of memoirs and books about writing memoir!
And if you are here not just to read reviews but to take your manuscript to the next level, contact me today! Let’s discuss how I can help you travel further on your expressive journey than you thought possible.