Hello Memoirists!
Recording of Author Q&A with Alison Wearing
We had a great conversation with Alison Wearing. We talked about story arc, structure, writing about trauma, the importance of publishing smaller pieces in journals, and her publishing process.
Some of my favorite quotes from the Q&A:
“The challenge of memoir is not deciding what to write about, but what not to write about. What to leave out so the central story can emerge.”
“The container for your story will allow you to write it… the smaller the container, the bigger your story can be.”
“The person, the scene, the story, the anecdote… only belongs if it pushes the bigger story forward.”
“When you start trying to please everyone else, your story will suffer”
Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/izl_Y1bqO8Y
Book Club Choice: Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott
November 10, 2022 – 7:00pm Munich time, 10:00am Pacific
Sign up here: https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/memoir-mentors/events/286726405/
For our next book club selection, we’ll be doing something a little different. We’ll be reading Bird by Bird, Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. This is not a memoir, but rather a guide on writing with some memoir bits thrown in.
“For a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom passed down from Anne’s father—also a writer—in the iconic passage that gives the book its title:
“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”
We will discuss:
- What we liked/didn’t like about the book.
- Thoughts about books that are guidance mixed with memoir.
- The guidance that we found most helpful.
- How /if we plan to implement any of the book’s advice.
- Other books or general advice on writing we find helpful.
Sign up here:
https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/memoir-mentors/events/288667395/
Upcoming events
I’d prefer that you sign up through Meetup so I know who to expect and so that you know what the agenda is for the week, but if that’s too problematic, you can go directly to the Zoom link that we use every week:
https://zoom.us/j/4400465879?pwd=R0Y0RUp4YjAvdnJCODV0MkhNMXlmdz09
October 13: Write then Read: https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/memoir-mentors/events/xndcrsydchbzb/
October 20: Write then Read: https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/memoir-mentors/events/xndcrsydcnbbc/
October 27: Speaking Your Story: https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/memoir-mentors/events/zndcrsydcnbkc/
November 3: Write then Read: https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/memoir-mentors/events/bzsxssydcpbfb/
November 10: Book Club (Bird by Bird): https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/memoir-mentors/events/288667395/