Monday, May 31, 2010

Memoir Writing - Three Ways to Become a Better Storyteller


Some people come to lifewriting with a natural facility for storytelling. Don't despair if you aren't one of them. To a great extent, this is a facility which can be learned. It's a matter of acquiring both technical skills and belief in yourself and in your role as storyteller.


1) Successful stories usually have a recognizable beginning ("It was the year I was nine that my father fell sick"); a middle that tells what happened in the story ("He took to bed; my mother went to work; my grandmother came to stay"); and an end that reveals how the story concludes ("Finally, in the fall, he died, and slowly Mother pieced our lives back together again").


2) Successful stories have characters who are recognizably human. Don't let your loved ones come off as "stick characters" in your stories. Even if you are writing about people you do not like and would prefer to show only their faults, write about some of their positive qualities or habits. Otherwise, your readers will not feel the humanity of your characters and may dismiss not only what you say about those persons, but also whatever it is you want your story to convey.


3) Successful stories have action. Action is often presented as a conflict (the clash of opposing or contradictory desires, or an unfolding of events) that is resolved before the end. ("Afternoons after school, Janie and I would take turns sitting next to his bed, reading aloud, enticing him to drink a little tea or listen to the radio. I willed him to be distracted from his illness and return to being the dad I used to rough-house with in the backyard.")


Good luck telling your stories!

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