What does the hit series Baby Reindeer and your gut instinct have in common? More than you might think. Let’s explore this connection to strengthen your memoir writing.
THE READER-WRITER PACT
With memoir writing comes the responsibility to write clearly, without deceiving the reader. Do not add things that didn’t happen and do not leave out bits that could distort meaning. You don’t have to invent things. Creative non-fiction is a genre where you must state: “To the best of my knowledge, this is what/why/how it happened.”
Why is it so important to write truthfully?
BABY REINDEER AND THE VALUE OF BRUTAL HONESTY
Baby Reindeer is the true telling of the life experience of Scottish actor and writer Richard Gadd. In the Netflix series, it is a dark comedy about a barista who becomes the focus of an intense and unsettling obsession by Martha, one of his customers. Her fascination with Gus spirals out of control and destroys his life. Gadd’s story deals fearlessly with difficult and dark subject matter.
Gadd succeeded in writing/portraying creative non-fiction in the way it should be, with engaging honesty and without concealing his own fallibility. He wrote from his gut, and it worked. Readers/viewers instinctively pick up on this honesty and are thus invested in reading/watching the story play out.
How can you do the same when you write, and use this powerful tool? You don’t have to make up stuff to write – just write with an unshakeable gut feeling.
YOUR GUT INSTINCT AND WHY IT MATTERS
/ ɡʌt /
noun
the lower part of the alimentary canal; intestine
the entire alimentary canal visceral
informal.
plural courage, willpower, or daring; forcefulness
adjective
informal.
arising from or characterized by what is basic, essential, or natural
a gut reaction
a gut problem
Our gut, or microbiome, is called our second brain for a reason. Much more sophisticated than it has been credited, it is the source of nourishment of a whole ecosystem that affects everything, from your immune system to your mental health.
Intuition is the hunch, or deeper knowing. It is the ability to immediately understand something without conscious reasoning. “In other words, answers and solutions come to you, but you may not be aware of exactly why or how.”
“There’s a deep neurological basis for intuition. Scientists call the stomach the ‘second brain’ for a reason. There’s a vast neural network of 100 million neurons lining your entire digestive tract. That’s more neurons than are found in the spinal cord, which points to the gut’s incredible processing abilities.”
There is a difference between gut feeling and fear. Fear has a pushing energy, as you want to avoid a threat. Intuition, of gut feeling, has a pulling energy, a knowingness of what to do to resolve an issue.
YOUR BUILT-IN AI SYSTEM
Your intuition is “going to be making a prediction based on prior learning, situations you’ve been in, also movies you’ve watched and all the things that you’ve been through in your life.”
In The Intuition Toolkit, neuroscientist Joel Pearson defines it as follows: “It’s the learned, positive use of unconscious information for better decisions or actions.”
Pearson says some people use intuition more readily than others, but anyone can learn to develop and trust it. He has identified five essential rules for using intuition, easily remembered by the acronym SMILE:
S: Self-awareness (Feeling emotional? Don’t trust your intuition)
M: Mastery (Learn before you leap: why mastery matters for intuition)
I: Impulses and Addiction (These are not intuition)
L: Low Probability (Don’t use intuition for probabilistic judgments)
E: Environment (Use intuition only in familiar and predictable contexts)
THE THINGS BABY REINDEER AND YOUR GUT HAVE IN COMMON
“Intuition is the nose of the heart,” says writer Amit Kalantri. Gadd intuitively knew that his crazy, unbelievable story had to be told. To every writer then this piece of advice: Use your gut instinct and inner knowledge – it will assist you to write as truthfully as you can. As an author coach I am available if you need any assistance with your memoir writing.
5 Responses
Very clever and interesting
Thank you Lorinda, really appreciate your feedback!
Thank you, Anemari. My wife and I have watched “Baby Reindeer” over the weekend and were astonished to say the least. I haven’t see such raw emotion in a film in a long time. I also think that Mr Gadd is a very brave man. Loud applause for the two actors in the lead roles and the lady who played Teri. Wonderful acting!
Thank you for this post, Anemari. I watched the series recently and was very impressed by the story as well as the actors’ portrayal of their characters. I believe it is a good illustration of what a memoir is about.
Thank you Philip, and also for your comment of the mistake with the name – will rectify it!! All best with your own writing!