Last week in the
memoir class I lead, we discussed the importance of bringing a memoir’s main
characters to life.
Readers need to feel
they’re at least acquainted with (and maybe even attached to) key people. You
don’t need to flesh out every person in your memoir, but readers want to connect
with your main characters. When they do, they feel more immersed in your story
and keep reading.
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| onewildword.com/2011/07/03 |
In Writing the Memoir, Judith Barrington says, “Characters come alive when you pick the
particularly telling details that can make the difference between a cardboard
character and a real, live person.” She says we should select “those few
[details] that capture the essence of that person . . . a quirk of speech, a
mannerism, the way his hair falls across his face, an item of clothing, the
smell of her, or how she walks.”
Today let’s think
about mothers—maybe your mother, a friend’s mother, a friend or relative who is
a mother, or a mother-in-law. You want to create realistic characters,
capturing their most significant features and actions and habits and mannerisms.
Mary Larmoyeux shows us a lovely poem, "Your Mother Is Always With You," by Deborah R. Culver:
Your mother is
always with you.
She’s the whisper of
the leaves
as you walk down the
street.
She’s the smell of
certain foods you remember,
flowers you pick,
the fragrance of life itself.
She’s the cool hand
on your brow
when you’re not
feeling well.
She’s your breath in
the air on a cold winter’s day.
She is the sound of
the rain that lulls you to sleep,
the colors of a
rainbow;
she is Christmas
morning.
Your mother lives
inside your laughter.
She’s the place you
came from, your first home,
and she’s the map
you follow with every step you take.
She’s your first
love, your first friend,
even your first
enemy,
but nothing on earth
can separate you—
not time, not space,
not even death.
(Deborah R. Culver, "Your Mother Is Always With You,"
used by permission)
Then Mary Larmoyeux paraphrased Deborah’s poem to describe her own mother. Here are excerpts from her "My Mother Is Always With Me":
My mother is . . . the
reminder that things work out.
She’s the smell of
sugar cookies . . .
and Sunday roast . .
.
and the sight of
kneading bread.
She’s the hand that
picked Magnolias,
the sound of prayers
with Dad.
She’s the word of
kindness needed,
the trust that God’s
nearby. . . .
She’s the place that
I came from, my first home—
one I’ll always know.
. . .
(Mary Larmoyeux, “My Mother Is Always With Me.”)
Set aside a few
minutes to do what Mary did: Using Deborah
R. Culver’s original quote for inspiration, capture the essence of the mother
you’re writing about.
Was she refined and
elegant—or salty like Tugboat Annie?
Was she boisterous—or
mild-mannered?
Wild and
scatterbrained—or methodical and orderly?
Courageous—or
cowardly?
Haughty and
self-important—or humble and modest?
Self-absorbed—or
selfless?
Savvy, graceful,
strong—or uninformed, clumsy, weak?
Petite—or tall?
Slender—or obese?
Did she have a sense
of humor—or was she clueless?
What were her
rituals, her habits, her hobbies, her quirks?
Did she have a short
fuse? A voice like an angel? A contagious laugh? A heart of gold?
What did she
believe?
What did she live
for?
Review the attributes
Deborah R. Culver
and Mary Larmoyeux used.
Capture similar
details about a mother in your story.
All of us have
stories about a mother—your mother,
a friend’s mother, a
friend who is a mother,
or your mother-in-law.
Make her come alive
for your readers.
Make time to write.
If you will, your
readers and their families
will be all the
richer for them.
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