After
you’ve written a chapter for your memoir, set it aside for a week, or for at
least a couple of days. Don’t think about it for a while. Instead, work on
another chapter.
Distance
and time are your friends—they do wonders for objectivity—because the fresher
the story is in your memory, the harder it will be to catch things you need to
change.
Later,
print that chapter. Reading on paper is different from reading on a computer
screen. I haven’t yet figured out why, but it’s true. I always notice glitches
and hiccups on a written page that I miss on a computer screen.
Read
your story aloud. Read it as if you were a stranger. You’ll be surprised at the
changes you’ll want to make—changes that will improve your story for your
readers.
“When
you say something,
make
sure you have said it,”
“The
chances of your having said it are only fair.”
He’s
right. Rarely do we write a clear message the first time, or even the second or
third times.
I’ve
heard that 80 percent of what we communicate is misunderstood.
In
other words, we communicate accurately only 20 percent of the time.
That’s
scary.
Read
over your stories to be sure they’re clear. Be sure you’ve said what you meant
to say.
Listen
to this advice from a long-time mentor of mine:
“You
write to discover what you want to say.
You
rewrite to discover what you have said
and
then rewrite to make it clear to other people.”
Donald
Murray
And
remember:
“Revision
is not punishment,” says Murray in The Craft of Revision.
“Writing
evolves from a sequence of drafts,” he says. “Scientists . . . experiment. . .
. Actors and musicians rehearse. Retailers test markets, politicians take
polls, manufacturers try pilot runs. They all revise, and so do writers. Writing
is rewriting.”
Instead
of thinking of revision as punishment, think of it as an art—it’s polishing your
manuscript and making it sparkle.
Remember,
your stories are important. They can
change individuals, families, communities, towns, nations—even the world!
Write
your stories!
