Your memoir’s ultimate purpose: You are a God-designed link between generations past and future

 

Have you given thought to your memoir’s ultimate purpose?

 

Whether your answer is yes or no, here’s something to think about:

 

We learn from the Bible why God acts on behalf of His people: so that they would know Him: “Then you will know that I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 6:6-7, 1 Kings 20:13, Ezekiel 37:5-6, and Joel 2:19-27) and so that people would see Him and praise Him.

 

God does the same nowadays: He assures us of His love and faithfulness by doing things for us, sometimes in earthshaking ways, but usually in everyday ways.

 

So here you and I are, writing our stories—

about high school athletics, about being a Boy Scout,

or about falling in love, or raising babies, or teenagers,

or foster children;

about starting careers, or finding a best friend,

or climbing mountains,

or wrestling an octopus,

or serving in the military;

about going bankrupt, or having cancer,

or suddenly finding ourselves widows,

or being homeless, or orphaned,

or blind, or lost. . . .

 

And if we look deeply and examine it all and connect the dots (click on that link), we discover God was with us every second and every day, working on our behalf.

 

Oswald Chambers said it this way: “Never believe that so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.” (My Utmost for His Highest)

 

Make time to search for what He has done for you—often in seemingly little, everyday ways—and never doubt that He can use your stories to help readers see Him, know Him, and praise Him.

 

It still boggles my mind—God established this ingenious plan—for us to teach our children and grandchildren what we’ve seen Him do—because He knows that both we and they will benefit if we know, love, and follow Him.

 

Take in this paraphrase of Psalm 78:2-7:

 

We will tell our children,

and the generations that come after us,

God-shaped family stories our parents and grandparents

passed down to us.

Let’s not hide them

from our children and grandchildren.

Instead, let’s tell stories of what we have seen God do—

His power and might,

and the glorious and praiseworthy things He has done—

so that we and they will praise Him.

God commanded our ancestors

to teach such things to their children

so they in turn would teach their children

down through the generations.

This is His plan to help all of us

grasp and remember His deeds and miracles

and live faithfully according to His ways.

 

With that in mind, here’s an important tip:

 

Everyone resists those who get preachy

and have a holier-than-thou attitude,

so instead of harping on do’s and don’ts,

tell stories that will help young people

discover for themselves what’s important about God.

 

Stories are powerful.

 

“A story is up to twenty-two times more memorable than facts alone,” according to Professor Jennifer Aaker of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

 

Your story can entertain, cause readers to laugh,

or cry,

or both,

and they’ll remember your stories

longer than lectures or preaching.

Readers can take in the wisdom you learned,

avoid mistakes you have made,

and make their own good choices.

They can navigate through their own difficulties and mysteries,

make sense of their own lives,

and have a sense of direction for the future.

Your stories can soften and strengthen hearts,

pass on hope, and offer grace.

 

The following captures my vision—my prayer, my heart’s desire—for the memoir classes I teach and for this blog:

 

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise. . . .

One generation will commend Your works to another;

they will tell of your mighty acts.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty,

and I will meditate on Your wonderful works.

They will tell of the power of Your awesome works,

and I will proclaim Your great deeds.

They will celebrate Your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

(Psalm 145:3-7, NIV)

 

Make a conscious decision to write your memoir as a celebration of God.

 

As George Herbert said in the quote below, consider yourself a secretary of God’s praise.

 

“I’ve failed dreadfully if you have to read a sentence twice to figure out what I meant”

 

I have one more important tip for you, following up on last week’s post about the need for clarity in our writing. (If you missed it, click on “If there is any possible way for readers to misread or misinterpret what you write, they will.”)

 

To communicate effectively with readers,

aim your writing at an eighth-grade audience.

 

You read that correctly.

 

Years ago, when I studied journalism, instructors taught us to write in a way eighth-grade students could easily understand.

Recently I saw the same advice so it must still be the best practice.

 

What’s true for journalists is true for memoirists: Aim at an eighth-grade audience.

 

Ken Follett, Welsh author, says his goal is to make his prose “utterly easy to understand.” He calls it “transparent prose.”

 

“I’ve failed dreadfully,” Follet says, “if you have to read a sentence twice to figure out what I meant.”

 

You know what Follett means.

You have had the unpleasant experience

of reading a sentence or a paragraph

two or three times

before you could figure out the writer’s message.

Don’t be that kind of writer.

 

Revise your sentences and paragraphs

and chapters until they are

“utterly easy to understand.”

 

Have fun!

 

Back to Basics: “If there is any possible way for readers to misread or misinterpret what you write, they will.”

 

I’ve heard that people misunderstand about 80% of our communication.

 

Did you know?

 

“It has long been a guiding principle of writing that,

if there is any possible way for readers

to misinterpret what you write, they will.

The purpose of laborious and tedious editing

is to make the writing so precise

that it cannot be misread and misinterpreted.”

(Kendall Haven)

 

Consider this oh-so-true statement:

 

“I know you believe you understand

what you think I said,

but I’m not sure you realize

that what you heard is not what I meant.”

(Attributed to Robert McCloskey, U.S. State Department)

 

So what are you, a memoirist, to do about that?

 

I offer you the following tips:

 

After you’ve written a vignette—or two or three or ten—set your work aside for a few days (or even weeks).

 

Later, print your manuscript. Reading on a computer screen is different from reading it on paper. I can’t explain why that is true, but it is. I always catch boo-boos on paper that I miss on the computer screen.

 

With printout and pen in hand, read your piece. You’ll be surprised how objective you can be after stepping back for a while. Make notes to yourself about changes to make.

 

Next, make those revisions, keeping in mind that every good writer revises his or her manuscript a number of times.

 

Set aside your manuscript again for a few days. Then print it and read it aloud (or use the Read-Aloud function on your computer). Your ears alert you to what your eyes missed. Repeat this as often as necessary until you’re satisfied.

 

Put yourself in your readers’ shoes and, for their sake, clarify. Simplify.

 

Before you can do that,

you might need to ask,

“What am I trying to say?

What’s my point?”

 

Have you included lingo (Christianese, for example) or unfamiliar language (foreign or technical, for example) that your readers might not grasp?

 

When you’ve pinned all that down, ask yourself, “Will readers understand what I’m trying to  convey?”

 

Here’s good advice from Jesse Hines: 

 

“Use the language your readers will clearly understand. . . .

Don’t confuse your prose’s clarity

by using jargon or stilted ‘intelligent’ words. . . .

Remember, simple, short, and clear.”

 

Reword everything that could cause confusion.

 

If you don’t already belong to a good writers’ group, I highly recommend you join one. Other writers usually offer excellent feedback.

 

Most of all, have fun polishing your rough drafts. Revision is an art: Make your story beautiful.

 

Remember, stories can change individuals,

families, communities, towns, nations

—even the world.

 

Memoirs can change lives for eternity.

Write your story.