shaping the personal narrative: northwestern summer writers conference 2103
DESCRIPTION
Check out this slideshow from my two-hour workshop at the 2013 Northwestern Summer Writers Conference on essay and memoir writing. Michele Weldon is an author and essayist and has taught journalism on the graduate and undergraduate levels at The Medill School, Northwestern, since 1996.TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Shaping The Personal
Narrative memoir, essays and
blogs Michele Weldon Northwestern Summer Writers
August 2, 2013
![Page 2: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Part One: The Writing Nitty Gritty
How and why to write personal narrative My promise to you and your writing goals The rules of engagement in this workshop
![Page 3: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Climate supports the explosion of personal memoir, autobiography, anecdotal journalism, personal essays, opinion.
Intense cultural preoccupation with true personal stories.
![Page 4: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
But tell no lies.
![Page 5: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Blog, essay, chapter, book.
Every piece of writing should be excellent.
![Page 6: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
You cannot be a good writer without knowing good writing.
1. www.narrativemagazine.com2. http://byliner.com/3. http://www.dgquarterly.com/ 4. http://www.brainpickings.org/5. http://www.niemanstoryboard.org/category/notable-narratives/6. https://www.atavist.com/
https://www.atavist.com/
![Page 7: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
A writer can successfully adopt different writing modes.
![Page 8: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
You must decide on one option at a time.
Is your story an essay? Is it a blog? Is it a column? A chapter? A book? PICK ONE AND PROCEED. You can change your mind after you are done.
![Page 9: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Who would read about your life?
“I am the only truth I know.” --Jean Rhys
“We are talking about tools and carpentry, about words and style. But as we move along, you’d do well to remember, we are also talking about magic.”
--Stephen King
![Page 10: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
The leap of faith: Three years of stolen moments leads to book #1.
![Page 11: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
It’s not your whole life. It’s a part of it.
![Page 12: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Basements and file cabinets are full of unpublished memoirs.
Just telling a story is not enough. Tell it well. Must transcend the immediate. Must offer genuine connection Authenticity
![Page 13: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
How old are you?
![Page 14: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
The personal is universal.
Who else to tell your story but you?
“No one ever died from writing it down.”—Natalie Goldberg
You own your own story.
![Page 15: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
“You don’t write because you want to say something. You write because you have something to say.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Start with personal essays for magazines to test the waters.
![Page 16: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Weldon’s Rules of Writing:
Fear interferes. Write the talk Get out of your writing space Observe keenly Keep reporting, researching, polishing Dare to take writing risks
![Page 17: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Life is a road trip. Look out the window. Where do you fit in?
![Page 18: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Writing Assignment # 1:Be creative and fresh.
“No one can write well by rules, especially those who cannot feel or think or see.”
--H.L. Mencken
What is your memoir/essay idea? Give a one-sentence synopsis.
![Page 19: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Separating life from art.
Beyond a chronology What is larger truth? What does experience say about your place
in the world? Can others relate?
![Page 20: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Beyond navel-gazing.
“The writer’s fundamental attempt is to understand the meaning of his own experiences. If he can’t break through those issues that concern him deeply, he’s not going to be very good.
Robert Penn Warren
![Page 21: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
In the You Tube, Twitter, MySpace culture of personal story as
epistle, just telling what happened is not enough.
“We have personal blind spots. It’s understandable, if mildly tedious, from people waving around pictures of their kids or wanting to pore through snapshots from their vacations or sit through their home movies of the family washing the dog. From a writer, it’s unforgivable and probably unpublishable.”
– –Ansen Dibell, Plot
![Page 22: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Is it a memoir or just a memory?
“What you need to ask yourself about any story idea, is whether it’s something that’s too personal, something that’s very important to you, but would justifiably bore a stranger sitting next to you on a cross-country bus.”
Ansen Dibell
![Page 23: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
What does it mean to anyone else?
WHY?
![Page 24: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Writing Assignment # 2:
What is your story really about? One-sentence no more than 12 words.
![Page 25: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
The craft matters.
“You can write about anything and if you write well enough, even the reader with no intrinsic interest in the subject will become involved.”
Tracy Kidder
![Page 26: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
How you write as important as what your write.
Word choice Sentence length Pace Music of the writing.
![Page 27: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
Believe in the value of metaphor.
Create verbal imagery Be original How would you describe this sky?
![Page 28: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
Use all your senses.
![Page 29: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
Channel the passion.
“Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, not your games with language which will be the most seductive and compelling element in your style.”
– Kurt Vonnegut – http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/isabel_allende_tells_tal
es_of_passion.html
![Page 30: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
No excuses writing.
Writing is talking on paper. You’re not wasting paper. Your story is worth your time.
![Page 31: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
Readers are rubber-neckers.
They will stop and look, but you must answer:– What does it mean to me?– Why should I care?– So what?– How is your story more compelling than any
other?
![Page 32: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
So what?
You need to tell the truth Others want to know Others need to know Others should know The truth is bigger than you
![Page 33: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
Recognize good writing.
Authentic Compelling Poignant Precise Clear Moving
http://www.narrativemagazine.com/node/90872
![Page 34: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
Find the magic.
“If writing is thinking and discovery and selection and order and meaning, it is also awe and reverence and mystery and magic.”
Toni Morrison
![Page 35: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/35.jpg)
Report the details.
Interview Research Find the answers to the fuzz
“A writer does not explore anything by staying inside, safe from the beetles and the rain.” --Nelson Algren
![Page 36: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/36.jpg)
Good writing and reporting can never be divorced.
Good writing comes from abundance, not paucity.
You want to have more information than you can use. You never want to have too little.
Over-report, but never over-write. Learn to love a full notebook.
![Page 37: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/37.jpg)
Have faith.
“We are not all celebrities, we are not all supertalented, but in one way or another, we are all witnesses. Reality defines our vision of the world. And what we have seen, we must tell others.”
– --Roman Milisic
![Page 38: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/38.jpg)
What’s The Big Idea?
One-sentence active-voice declaration of what you intend to write about.
Not too broad, not too narrow.
Writing Assignment # 3: Translate first two assignments into Big Idea.
![Page 39: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/39.jpg)
Out of your body and onto the paper.
![Page 40: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/40.jpg)
Good writing is fully dimensional.
Write in layers. Go back. Revise. Let it breathe. Take stuff out. Put stuff in.
![Page 41: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/41.jpg)
Be undeletable.
Commit writing that is clear, lyrical, eloquent, compelling.
No clutter Not too much, not too little
![Page 42: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/42.jpg)
Writing people remember.
Reliable is better than predictable.
Fresh is better than rehashed.
Use your own voice.
![Page 43: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/43.jpg)
What is hot?
Move beyond a retelling of events, chronology Create “Aha!” moments for readers Deliver clean style and reliable information with
different levels and approaches Give readers what they need and want to know,
and also what they don’t want to know, but should.
Give them something to talk about Offer a personality with your byline
![Page 44: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/44.jpg)
Solid storytelling using narrative techniques
Expose details not widely known Anecdotal, personal approach Sublime description and use of metaphors Perform a clichectomy in all stories Liberal use of quotes, dialogue New point of view
![Page 45: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/45.jpg)
All of it told in your own voice.
![Page 46: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/46.jpg)
“Voice” as a writer means:
1. Word choice
2. Approach
3. Structure, Cadence
4. Tone
5. All of the above
![Page 47: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/47.jpg)
Start with a roadmap. A plan.
Bring it into focus. You decide the view.
![Page 48: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/48.jpg)
How you tell the story matters. What will be the thread of continuity?
Will it be a source/character? An event? A place? An idealogy? A lesson?
![Page 49: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/49.jpg)
Who are the characters?
Conflict? Development? Transformation? Path? Change?
![Page 50: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/50.jpg)
Make us love them or hate them, but make us feel something.
How you describe makes all the difference. What you describe. What characters do. Give back story. DO NOT OVER EXPLAIN.
ASSUME NOTHING.
![Page 51: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/51.jpg)
Refrain from the use of “I.”
Your presence should be implied, not overt. Let the characters speak, not you. Show the facts. Don’t preach. Do not mar the view. Remember appropriateness. You are a fly on the wall not a gorilla in the middle of
the room.
![Page 52: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/52.jpg)
What is the action? Nothing is fabricated or embellished.
![Page 53: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/53.jpg)
Make a timeline.
You can start in the beginning, middle or end. But it has to make sense.
You can have flashbacks. The story has to have an arc. Can not just be
a collection of anecdotes. Need resolution, change.
![Page 54: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/54.jpg)
Scenes or perish.
A cinematic, digital society requires vignettes, scenes.
Add dialog. Add action. MAKE THE
STORY MOVE.
![Page 55: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/55.jpg)
FIND A LIVE ELEMENT!
Event Follow character at work, hobby, practice Go to a site Observe, witness Show examples
![Page 56: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/56.jpg)
Each scene, chapter builds on the previous.
Bridges to action
Connections to character
No Volkswagens up the mountain
No dangling declarations
![Page 57: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/57.jpg)
How will you build your story?
What will you use? What will you not use? Will your story be
functional? Will your story be
unique? Will your story stand up
over time?
![Page 58: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/58.jpg)
Internal dialogue is OK.
But not too much. Let others talk. Show. Demonstrate. Exemplify. No long strings of rantings and ravings.
![Page 59: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/59.jpg)
Organize the structure.
Brainstorm Outline Map Schedule your writing
![Page 60: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/60.jpg)
Learn to love a good outline.
![Page 61: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/61.jpg)
Get it out.
You can’t shape a sculpture until you begin working with clay.
You can’t make a cake until you start mixing the ingredients.
You can’t remodel a house without the basic structure.
You can’t tell your story until you put down the words.
![Page 62: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/62.jpg)
Getting to the writing: Be quiet.
Have a writing place Set aside time Be free of criticism Respect your own voice Writing is an
intellectually and emotionally athletic event.
![Page 63: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/63.jpg)
Tell yourself no lies.
Tell it in your own voice. Use your words.Be authentic.
![Page 64: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/64.jpg)
Live the contemplative life.
“Life is a succession of lessons that must be lived to be understood.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“We are all created creative and can invent new scenarios as frequently as they are needed.”
Maya Angelou
![Page 65: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/65.jpg)
You need more.
“Talent isn’t enough. You need motivation and persistence, too, what Steinbeck called a blend of faith and arrogance. If you don’t have it, don’t be a writer.”
Leon Uris
![Page 66: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/66.jpg)
Writing Assignment # 4
Describe the next page. Use metaphors. Risk with the language.
![Page 67: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/67.jpg)
![Page 68: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/68.jpg)
You have permission.
This is not a graded assignment.
Tell it how you want to tell it.
![Page 69: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/69.jpg)
Dare to write.
Once you express yourself, you can tell the world what you want from it. Then you can change the world.”
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
![Page 70: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/70.jpg)
Write first. Edit heavily. Market last.
![Page 71: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/71.jpg)
Mistakes erode your credibility.
Proper names Correct data Correct addresses, abbreviations Proper AP Style, Chicago Manual of Style
If you use real people with real names, GET PERMISSION.
![Page 72: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/72.jpg)
A journal is to journalism what blog is to memoir.
People will not pay for your informal musings. Show off your craft. Anyone can anytime anywhere publish their
reminiscences. You want yours to be coveted.
![Page 73: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/73.jpg)
Just as in journalism, editors want you to be clean.
If your copy doesn’t require an overhaul, the publisher will like you.
If your copy is clean, the reader will trust you. Your byline is your brand. Fix your own copy before you turn it in with a
re-read and a rewrite.
![Page 74: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/74.jpg)
Never let your readers say, “I don’t think so.”
If you don’t know, ask. Report, research. If you aren’t sure, look through your notes or
fact check against original source.Find out the specifics.
Clear writing means never having to read the sentence twice.
Don’t use punctuation to get you out of a jam.
![Page 75: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/75.jpg)
Consider your writing like a dinner party. Keep the food and conversation flowing.
![Page 76: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/76.jpg)
Narratives have a beginning, middle and end.
As in all nonfiction, this narrative begins with a bang.
Organize, outline, structure chapters, pages, grafs and sentences with transitions and care.
Vary sentence structure. Consider the story arc. NO CUTE ANDY ROONEY ENDINGS!
![Page 77: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/77.jpg)
Great journalism– and memoir-- according toCarl Sessions Stepp:
Storyline: a great ideaSurprise: compelling
materialStyle: engaging writing
![Page 78: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/78.jpg)
FIND A LIVE ELEMENT in every chapter.
Events show, don’t tell Follow character at work, hobby, practice Go to a site Observe, witness No sitting around drinking coffee
![Page 79: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/79.jpg)
Every good chapter and every memoir needs a shifting focus. Move the aperture.
You want close-up, medium amd long shots.
![Page 80: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/80.jpg)
No endless rants. They get dull.
![Page 81: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/81.jpg)
Everything must have a news hook.
Link your memoir to cultural trend, event, anniversary. It can’t float in space.
![Page 82: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/82.jpg)
Vary the types of experiences for the reader.
![Page 83: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/83.jpg)
Don’t just stop.
Is the ending as powerful as the beginning? Did you run out of gas?
![Page 84: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/84.jpg)
Write because you have to.
Writing is like fingerprints One sentence at a time The best stories are rewritten
“Be yourself. The world worships the original.”
Jean Cocteau
![Page 85: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/85.jpg)
It’s been done before.
“I take pen and ink and write my mind.”– William
Shakespeare
![Page 86: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/86.jpg)
But not by you.
It’s all been said and done. But you have not said it or done it. So try it.
![Page 87: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/87.jpg)
Trouble.
“The trouble is if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more. You can’t risk anything as a writer, not a new kind of lead, not a bold question in an interview, not a different visual approach in broadcast or online, if you don’t have the confidence to try.”
Erica Jong
![Page 88: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/88.jpg)
Criticism is not personal.
![Page 89: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/89.jpg)
Write to save your life.
Preserve your memories.
Value the sanctity of your own story.
Regain control through your words.
Tell stories you need to tell.
Write something wonderful.
![Page 90: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/90.jpg)
Rewrite because everyone must.
SFD by Anne Lamott Let the cake cool and frost it You are more brilliant at some times than you
are at others OR Sometimes you are less brilliant than at other
times
![Page 91: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/91.jpg)
Know what your story means.
Understand its place in literature and the culture.
Be able to explain it in one sentence. Be able to promote it. Stand up to your truth.
![Page 92: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/92.jpg)
It’s about the craft, right?
Always work to get better. The fame and fortune is a by-product. The joy is in the accomplishment, not the
applause.
![Page 93: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/93.jpg)
Writing Assignment # 5:
Honestly, what do you want to accomplish with your writing?
Hint: It must be about more than you.
![Page 94: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/94.jpg)
Your story matters.
![Page 95: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/95.jpg)
Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace.
The soul that knows it not, knows no release
From little things: Knows not the livid loneliness of fear,
Nor mountain heights when bitter joy can hear
The sounds of wings.”
--Amelia Earhardt
![Page 96: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/96.jpg)
Writers write.
“If I knew I was going to die, I would type faster.”
Isaac Asimov
![Page 97: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/97.jpg)
Writers need other writers.
Share with other writers.
Look for support, not a makeover.
Respect your voice Respect other writers Collaborate
![Page 98: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/98.jpg)
Amy Tan on creativity. (5:59-7:58)
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/amy_tan_on_creativity.html
![Page 99: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/99.jpg)
Work with an agent.
Send out 20 queries after studying Jeff Herman’s Guide. Write the proposal using Michael Larsen’s
Guide.
![Page 100: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/100.jpg)
Do everything your agent says.
They do know best.
![Page 101: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/101.jpg)
Then do everything your editor says.
![Page 102: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/102.jpg)
Eating my words on self-published ebooks.
![Page 103: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/103.jpg)
Your writing has been born.
![Page 104: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/104.jpg)
Support your baby with social media.
![Page 105: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/105.jpg)
Start this writing today.
Write before the idea leaves you
Write to remember Write to move forward Write to honor yourself Write to validate your
feelings Write to understand the
past Write because you must
![Page 106: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/106.jpg)
Writing Assignment # 6:
What is the first thing you will do toward making your memoir a reality?
![Page 107: Shaping the Personal Narrative: Northwestern Summer Writers Conference 2103](https://reader033.vdocuments.us/reader033/viewer/2022061110/545282f7af7959d2098b953f/html5/thumbnails/107.jpg)
Follow me. I will follow you.
www.micheleweldon.com [email protected]
[email protected]://twitter.com/micheleweldonlinkedin,facebook