Magic of Memoir 2015 took place in Berkeley, CA, October 17-18. Co-hosted by Brooke Warner and Linda Joy Myers. Find out more about their memoir classes and workshops at www.writeyourmemoirinsixmonths.com.

1. Insert pretty picture
We encourage Tweets and FB posts: #magicofmemoir (but there is no wifi)
WELCOME TO
MAGIC OF MEMOIR

2. #magicofmemoir
Getting Started with
(or Possibly Rethinking)
Your Memoir

3. What’s Your Category?
• Where does your book belong
on the shelf?
• Why does it matter?
• How is it different from
theme?
• Positioning—and why it helps
your memoir.

4. Theme 101
• What your story is about—loss, healing or recovery,
search for adoptive family, abandonment.
• Selecting your theme(s) helps you focus on the threads of
your story and the scenes you choose.
• Examples:
• Angela’s Ashes—the miserable Irish
childhood
• Wild—an inner and an outer journey
• The Glass Castle—growing up neglected
in her parents’ fantasy world

5. Your Theme-Colored Glasses
• Your theme is the air your
book breathes.
• Exercise: Explore or name
your themes.
• Practice: Seeing the world
you live in through your
theme(s).

6. Structure
Braided, Associative, Experimental
• What structure means and how it functions
• Braided—alternate chapters in a different voice, time frame, or POV
• Associative—The theme, tone and philosophy/psychology of the author
create threads that weave throughout
• Experimental—draws upon various forms, styles, and themes, such as the
use of poetry, POV shifts, progression of time and theme

7. Structure
Linear, Framed, Outlier
• Linear—Writing about a contained period of time, from Point A to Point B,
with fewer flashback and memory scenes than the framed memoir.
• Framed—The backstory happens within the frame—Point A to Point B—
through the use of flashback and memory.
• Outlier—Anything you can’t quite categorize. Overlaps with experimental,
but is typically more traditional in its approach, like a memoir in essays.

9. #magicofmemoir
Your Memoir as a
Movie

10. What Makes a Scene?
• Specific place and time
• Sensual details
• Characters and setting
• Situation and problem
• Connecting to theme
• Shape—beginning, middle, end

11. Sensual Details
• Taste—sweet, sour, bitter;
Specific foods—coffee, oranges,
watermelon, chocolate cake
• Smell—specific foods, earth,
plants, disgusting vs. pleasant
smells
• Textures—smooth, nubby, gritty,
sleek, slippery
• Sounds—delicate, loud, grating;
specific music: Bach, rock n’ roll, folk

12. Showing vs. Telling
• What’s the difference?
• How can you move
toward more “showing”?
• What’s the balance of
show vs tell?

13. Flashback and Memory
• Flashback and memory defined
• Reasons to include flashbacks
• How to write flashback vs.
memory

14. Takeaway
• Where does this term come
from?
• What are we talking about and
how can you implement it?
• How to turn your inner world
outward to connect with your
reader.
• How and when to implement it.
• Drawing upon themes to mine
for takeaways.

16. #magicofmemoir
The “Muddy Middle”
of Your Memoir

17. What Is the Muddy Middle?
• The moment the excitement about your idea begins to
fade into the reality of writing a whole book.
• Sometimes as early as Chapter 1.
• How long will this last?
• Why to embrace the Muddy Middle—it’s about the
journey, AND the destination.

18. Writing the Truth
• The truth you know.
• The truth you discover.
• The family agreement on truth.
• The truth you must tell.

19. Your Inner & Outer Critics
• Who are the inner critics?
• Strategies for dealing with
them.
• Who are the outer critics?
• Strategies for dealing with
them.

20. Writing Exercise 1
(10 minutes)
Write down four things the
inner critic says that stops
you from writing.
Answer back.

21. Writing Exercise 2
(10 minutes)
Write down the truths you know you
must write
AND/OR
Write down some truths you know your
family will not want you to write

22. Healing &
Testimony
• Dr. James Pennebaker’s research on healing
• How to write the healing version
• Visualization; meditation; photos; journaling
• Permission; support; community
• Power of testimony and witnessing

24. #magicofmemoir
The Power of
Narration

25. What Is Narration?
• Synonym for “narrative” is “story.”
• Connected events—that things
are linked causally.
• Tracking the story for plot, theme,
character development,
and through-threads.

26. What’s Your Narrative Voice?
• Theme and frame set up narrative voice
• How many narrators do you have—now, then,
guiding, and reflective
– Now narrator
– Then narrator
– Guiding narrator
– Reflective narrator

27. Choosing the Lens Through
Which You Write
• Voice of experience vs.
voice of innocence—there
are two “I’s”
• Karr calls this the “looking
back” voice and the “being in
it” voice
Integrative power of close in
and distance lens

28. Layering Scenes
and Narration
• Weaving narration, “now” moments (including
dialogue), reflection, and takeaway.
• Using memory, imagination, what happened,
what we feel about what happened, and how
what happened led to the next thing to inform
our scenes.

30. Writing Exercise
(20 minutes)
Write about a house you loved using
the elements of scene we’ve
been teaching this weekend:
• Sensual details
• Dialogue
• Reflection
• Anything else

31. #magicofmemoir
Writing That Brings
Your Memoir Alive

32. Turning Points & Outlining
• Turning Points overview
• Tracking your scenes
• Scaffolding (outlining)
• How to scaffold what you
already have, and use it as a tool
moving forward

33. What Is Arc?
• It’s what happens in your
memoir
• The emotional framework of
your memoir
• A collection of meaningful
moments (your turning points)
that take into account your
theme and takeaway in every
scene

34. Note to self to review what
would be included and to
add/revise if necessary.
Arc Continued

35. Characterization
• You’re the protagonist—
must change throughout story
• Character tags, description
• Character portraits
• Body language and dialogue

36. Through-threads
• What are through-
threads?
• Connecting your
through-threads to your
themes, to character
development, to arc.
• Identifying through-
threads while you write as
a practice in “rewarding”
your reader.

37. Dialogue
• A significant scene that shows character and action
• It’s your memory of the feeling in the scene
• Instant characterization=speaking
• No talking heads
• Body language and thoughts woven in

39. #magicofmemoir
All About Publishing!

40. Revision
• Print out whole manuscript.
• Read with pen and markers in hand.
• Color code each character—track throughout the
manuscript (includes pets).
• Color code your themes.

41. Checklist:
• Themes—take you beyond the
"what happened" stage.
• Scenes—grounded; sensual details.
• Note: Character development and tags.
• Dialogue—no talking heads or exposition.
Revision continued

42. Checklist continued:
• Flashback transitions—memoir is a time traveling
event and your reader needs to follow you.
• Takeaway—universal elements that touch your
reader and help them identify with you.
• Weaving narration with scenes.
• Rewriting—rinse and repeat.
• Peer readers and editors.
Revision continued

43. Levels of Editing
• Developmental editing (structural,
big picture, pacing, sequencing, flow)
• Copyediting/line editing (grammar,
punctuation, syntax, watching out for
minor repetitions)
• Proofreading (Punctuation and
grammatical errors, formatting errors,
spelling.

44. Submitting to Agents & Editors
• Professional presentation, with boundaries and positive
attitude
• You are one of many to agents & editors—they want
something they can sell.
• Manuscript double spaced; proper formatting of paragraphs.
• Follow submission instructions; follow up after 4-6 weeks with
polite, not pushy note.
• Don't whine if they reject you. Consider carefully comments
they make. Don’t revise for each editor or agent.
• Take time to think about feedback, next steps.

45. What Agents & Editors
Are Looking For
• Business partners
• Savvy professionals
• Confidence and expertise
• Go-getters
• Self-starters

46. Query Letters
• Spell the agent’s/editor’s name correctly!
• Purpose—introduce yourself and your book.
• Use a professional tone, yet show your voice.
• What your book is about—pitch.
• What will others get from your book: takeaway, its value.
• Word count and other details.
• Your credentials/brief bio.

47. Proposals
• The value of doing one no matter what.
• The elements:
• Overview
• Chapter Summaries
• Author Bio
• Target Audience
• Comparative Titles
• Marketing/Publicity Analysis