You don’t need to be perfect to write a memoir, but you do need to be real

“Editors don’t want” [and I add: readers don’t want] “stories of our great triumphs or success. Readers identify with failure and find hope in rising above mistakes” (Cec and Me, with Cecil Murphey and Twila Belk).

You don’t need to be perfect to write a memoir.

But you do need to be real.

Readers want to identify with you.

They can do so if you’re willing

to be vulnerable—transparent—with them.

They read because they want to learn from you,

so write about your struggles, your flops, your fiascos.

Admit to your messes and debacles.

But don’t stop there!

Tell readers why and how you fought through your failures.

Tell them what kept you from giving up.

Tell them what gave you hope and resolve.

Tell them.

They need to know.

Why?

Because they want to grab hold of the same courage

and tenacity and faith and hope you chose.

They want to rise from the rubble like you did.

Write your stories!

Tuesday Tidbit: On vulnerability, success, failure, and hope

Let's read that last part again. "Editors don't want [and I add: readers don't want] stories of our great triumphs and success. Readers identify with failure and find hope in rising above mistakes."

Let's remember this while we write our memoirs.

Follow Cec and Me, with Cecil Murphey and Twila Belk, on Facebook. 

What do you know of failure and valor and brick walls?

.

It is not the critic who counts;

not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,

or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man

who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred

by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly;

who errs, and comes short again and again,

because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;

but who does actually strive to do the deeds;

who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions;

who spends himself in a worthy cause;

who at the best knows in the end the triumph

of high achievement,

and who at the worst, if he fails,

at least fails while daring greatly,

so that

his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls

who know neither victory nor defeat.

(President Theodore Roosevelt)

“Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something bad enough. They are there to keep out other people.”  (Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture)

Read those two passages again, noting which phrases resonate with you.

What people come to mind when you read these statements? What did those individuals teach you?

What experiences surface from your own past: What do you know of failure and valor and brick walls? What lessons did you learn in the midst of them? What did you learn about God and yourself?

Which Bible passages do these stories illustrate?

What stories can you write—about your own experience or someone else’s—that will pass on wisdom and tenacity and faith to your memoir’s readers?



Saturday Snippet: Risky Business

Welcome, Ellen and Patricia, to S M 101!

Wednesday we'll continue with

the art and craft of writing your memoir,

but for today,

here's your Saturday Snippet of inspiration!



In what specific areas do you need to risk growing

so you can write your memoir?