“Facts aren’t enough. We need to feel them,” says Trace Crawford in a lecture. Memoir writing has become a worldwide phenomenon. Precisely because of this, it is so important to write well, and to focus on the economy of words in your memoir.
HOW DO I MAKE MY READER FEEL WHAT I MEAN?
Find the most absolute, sensory, and economical way to say what you want to say in your memoir. Describe precisely and really pay attention to detail. Remember to look beneath the surface as well. The writer`s work is always to look at what is going on underneath that which is visible.
Your aim is to bring the world of your text to your reader. Do it in such a way that your reader has a vivid picture of what is going on.
FOUR CHARACTERISTICS OF SOLID DESCRIPTIVE WRITING
- Include as many vivid sensory details as possible.
- Use figurative language: analogies, similes, and metaphors.
- Use precise language. Search for specific, terrific adjectives as well as strong action verbs.
- Be organised and do not wander off into flowery language.
All four characteristics have been dealt with in previous blogs.
TRUE STORIES, WELL TOLD
True Stories, Well Told: From the First 20 Years of Creative Nonfiction Magazine by authors Lee Gutkind and Harrison Scott Key is a book worth perusing. Remember, when writing your life story or memoir, all the techniques of fiction writing can be incorporated:
“Creative nonfiction is the literary equivalent of jazz: it’s a rich mix of flavours, ideas, voices, and techniques some newly invented, and others as old as writing itself. This collection of 20 gripping, beautifully written nonfiction narratives is as diverse as the genre Creative Nonfiction magazine has helped popularise. Contributions by Phillip Lopate, Brenda Miller, Carolyn Forche, Toi Derricotte, Lauren Slater, and others draw inspiration from everything from healthcare to history, and from monarch butterflies to motherhood. Their stories shed light on how we live.”
THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THE DETAIL
Sight. Smell. Hear. Feel. Taste. Use these five markers as much as you possibly can. A good exercise is to revisit previous writing and check whether you have included sensory descriptions. The beauty of this practice is that it is a natural antidote to “telling” what had happened. When you use the senses, you “show” a scene. And that makes all the difference.
With solid description, you bring the world of the text to your reader. They can climb into the pages and see what you see, smell what you smell, taste the food or the mood.
As Trace Crawford says, it allows you to be vivid, rather than vague.
SIX WORD STORIES
How many words do you really need to tell a story or to convey meaning? In a writing course I attended, the lecturer gave us these three examples. How do they make you feel when you read them?
- “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
- “From torched skyscrapers, men grew wings.”
- “We kissed. She melted. Mop, please!”
And a Dutch example of a shorter piece, where honesty seems the best policy:
“Mamie laat mij slapen
En zingt net meer dat lied
De meeste moeders zingen mooi
Maar Mamie, Mamie niet”
Award-winning poet Ntozake Shange manages to describe herself in just fourteen words:
“and this is what I have
poems
big thighs
lil tits
and so much love”
THE ECONOMY OF WORDS IN YOUR MEMOIR
Whether you are writing a memoir or a life story, the pointers for creative nonfiction are clear. Write well, use creative fiction techniques, and engage your reader with solid sensory descriptions. Adhere to the motto of “true stories, well told” and chances that you will go wrong, will be slim. As a writing coach, I am always here to assist you with any questions you have about sensory description and the economy of words in your writing.