“What is your journey,”
Rebecca S. Ramsey asks memoir-writers, “the big change you experienced that you
want to share with the world?”
Rebecca’s question
is important because memoir is about change, transformation. Your memoir needs
to include your transformation.
Jon Franklin can
help better understand what we call “the story arc.” He writes that a quality
story “will consist of a real person who is confronted with a significant
problem, who struggles diligently to solve that problem, and who ultimately
succeeds—and in doing so becomes a different character.”
In other words, “A
story consists of a sequence of actions that occur when a sympathetic character
encounters a complicating situation that he confronts and solves.” (Writing for Story, Jon Franklin, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and a well-known pioneer
in creative nonfiction)
So, the big
question for you is:
What new person did
you become
because of your
experience?
Rebecca Ramsey asks it this way: “What were the little struggles and big struggles that got you
from the beginning to end?”
You’ll need to
articulate that in writing before your memoir will be ready to publish. But that’s
easier said than done—many people struggle to identify those turning points and
defining moments.
Rebecca herself admits the answers weren’t clear when she began writing her memoir, The Holy Éclair: Signs and Wonders from an Accidental Pilgrimage.
How did she figure
out that transformation in her life?
After much work
(writing The Holy Éclair took her ten years), she discovered this: Writing
helped her answer those questions. Something about the process helped her recognize
the ways her life changed.
You don’t need to
have all the answers
before you start
writing.
Give yourself time
to discover your story and write it—
even if it takes
ten years like it did for Rebecca.
Within the process
of writing,
ask yourself
Rebecca’s questions
and search for the
answers.
They are there.
Don’t give up. You’ll
find them!
