Here’s what I learned from my conversation with Kate Gies, author of It Must Be Beautiful To Be Finished:-The key to writing about someone you love who you’ve also been hurt by, is to write with empathy. Think about their perspective and their experience and be generous and loving when you do. -Be wary of the please-feel-bad-for-me voice-Analogies should be both fresh and accurate-Metaphors written as standalone chapters, without any reference to how they relate to your story, are a powerful way to trust the reader and not hit them over the head with they're meaning. -The most important person in getting her book published was her agent.-Three memoirs that have inspired her writing.
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Episode 56: Amy Wilson
A conversation with the author of Happy To Help: Adventures of a People Pleaser.LINKSBooks:Happy To HelpWhen Did I Get Like This?Essay:Why I Didn't Want A Girl (originally titled: A Daughter At Last)Podcast:What Fresh Hell? References:Mom 2.0 ConferenceBooked Author seriesZibby Retreat (Santa Barbara)
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Episode 55: Happy To Help by Amy Wilson
Here’s what I learned from Happy To Help: Adventures of a People Pleaser by Amy Wilson:Include your fantasies. It’s especially funny if you can incorporate four levels in the build up to the punchline:First: set the scene—what’s about to happenSecond: set the stakes—why is this a big dealThird: fantasy/a positive hypothetical of what’s to comeFourth: Dialogue/action of what actually transpiredWrite a short and snappy analogy that has pronouns and alliteration: “It was like hiring Kidz Bop for a bachelor party.”Include proper nouns. Proper nouns that are personal to you make the writing more compelling, specific, and yes, even funny: “I used to make fun of my husband for letting his perception of a good night's sleep be ruined by what his Whoop told him.”
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Episode 54: Here After by Amy Lin
Memoir deep dive #21Here’s what I learned from Here After by Amy Lin: One way to treat your audience like a genius is to not say the next obvious thing. Where can I leave out what the reader already knows is coming? One approach to this: in every paragraph I write, where can I remove the last sentence? “I stare at the blank ceiling tiles and wonder when Kurtis will call me. I have so much to tell him.” Expressing negative feelings about a person’s appearance is funnier than directly expressing negative feelings about the person. “Also, I hate Michelle’s haircut.” When using Anaphora—which is repetition at the start of a sentence or clause—the last line should punch with specificity. “It is the only thing I feel able to do since he died. The only way I am able to say what it is like for me. The only place I can meet grief without being utterly consumed by it.” The most important place to leave out thoughts and feelings (and only show dialogue and action) is when I’m the most emotional. The angrier I feel, the less feelings should be put on the page.
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Episode 53: Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction
Here's what I learned from Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction by Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd:
-When writing memoir, never insert present knowledge about your past if it means condemning your past self or celebrating your present self.
-Avoid casual prose such as, "you know," or "bet you thought," or "ummm, hello?" This style of writing seeks instant intimacy with the reader. It's a style what wants to SEEM fresh and authentic but has the opposite effect.
-Don't be melodramatic! I cannot write that "I was homeless" because I was crashing on my friend's couch in between living situations. Just write what happened. Just write the facts.
-If you want to publish a book you don't need a marketing plan or a book proposal. You need 20-30 pages of good prose and a trusted agent's counsel.
Ireland