Reading time: 3 minutes, 34 seconds
God has given you a story—a unique story only you can tell. He has led you up to mountaintop experiences and down into deep valleys, and He has brought you to this day.
And He wants you to tell others what He has done and what you have learned.
He wants to use your story like He has used so many others—accounts from the Bible and from current-day people—to encourage, instruct, heal, comfort, challenge, inspire—even to amuse.
Did you get that?
He wants to use your memoir.
He has plans for your memoir.
That means you need to pen a story that others will read. And that’s why we’ve concentrated recently on writing an outstanding beginning for your memoir. You need to hook readers and convince them to read your God-and-you story.
Opening paragraphs and pages will likely be the hardest part of writing, but it’s doable. It can even be fun!
In the past couple of weeks, we’ve studied a variety of openings (click on links below). Here are more options:
The Zinger (or Startling) Lead surprises readers—maybe even gives them a jolt—creates curiosity, and builds suspense.
Here’s an example:
“I was five years old the first time I ever set foot in prison. . . . It smelled like urine and whiskey vomit. . . . The corridors were dark and gloomy, and the slightest sound echoed ominously in the hall. We stopped in front of a cell where men stared at the wall in front of them. Some were crumpled on the floor where they had passed out. . . .” (Jimmy Santiago Baca, A Place to Stand)
That’s just a few sentences, but you’d want to continue fashioning a number of paragraphs, perhaps even an entire chapter, to give momentum to your opening.
Here’s another example:
“I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster. It was just after dark. A blustery March wind whipped the steam coming out of the manholes, and people hurried along the sidewalks with their collars turned up. I was stuck in traffic two blocks from the party where I was heading.
Mom stood fifteen feet away. She had tied rags around her shoulders to keep out the spring chill and was picking through the trash. . . . Mom’s gestures were all familiar—the way she tilted her head and thrust out her lower lip when studying items of potential value that she’d hoisted out of the Dumpster, the way her eyes widened with childish glee when she found something she liked. . . . ” (Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle)
Use The Question Lead to make your reader think about how he would answer. Avoid a question that can be answered with a simple “Yes” or “No.” Ask a thought-provoking question that will draw him in and motivate him to keep reading.
For example: “If you found yourself in my shoes, what would you do? I’d just discovered my boss had been secretly taping his conversations with me. And even though I kept my private life private—super private, in fact—he knew I’d gone to a birthday party the night before. Was he stalking me? If so, why? What did he know that I didn’t know? I asked myself, Should I go to the police? Should I hire an attorney? And then I asked the question that really gave me the willies: Am I in danger?”
This, too, is brief so you’d want to write a lot more, maybe a whole chapter, to craft an effective opening.
Then there’s The “You” Message. Address the reader, using the word “you” to help him identify with the person(s) in your story.
For example: “You recognize shapes as written words and can spell them out letter by letter. You write down lists so you won’t forget. You read a book for leisure. You enjoy crossword puzzles. You get news from the Internet or a daily paper. And as you study God’s Word, He speaks to you. For millions of people [however], these skills do not exist. . . .” (from “Eyes to See, Ears to Hear,” Rev 7, Fall 2006)
How's the beginning of your memoir? Even if you’ve worked on it before, like Nathan Bransford said, “You probably need to take another look at your opening.”
Why? Because most people perfect and polish their opening last. It’s generally the hardest part to compose and is the most important part—because it can make or break your entire story. And you really don’t want your memoir to just gather dust on your readers’ bookshelves.
So here’s your assignment:
Set aside time to study openings by looking through books at the library or a bookstore. Study magazine and newspaper articles.
Not all of those beginnings will be effective. Ask yourself what works and what doesn’t, and why. (Read Tuesday’s post, I gave the famous author two days to convince me to read her book, but. . . . about an opening that just didn’t grab me.)
Then, with what you learn, craft your memoir’s opening. Experiment.
Get feedback from a writers’ group or online critique community.
You can do this! Remember why you must do this!
God has given you a story—a unique story only you can tell. He has led you up to mountaintop experiences and down into deep valleys, and He has brought you to this day.
And He wants you to tell others what He has done and what you have learned.
He wants to use your story like He has used so many other stories—stories from the Bible and from current-day people—to encourage, instruct, heal, comfort, challenge, inspire—even to amuse.
Did you get that?
He wants to use your memoir.
He has plans for your memoir.
Make those plans happen!
Related posts:
If you don’t get this right, you’ll lose readers (the Quote Lead and the Scene-setting Lead)
Before people buy your memoir, they’ll check out its opening (the Action Lead, Anecdote Lead, and Statistics Lead)
No comments:
Post a Comment