Simplicity on the far side of complexity

Over the past couple months, I’ve read dozens of memoirs. Those that stand out do so for their own unique reasons. Those that fail, do so for similar reasons: they have the structural soundness of a house built on a sand. Filled with memories retold because they’re remembered, not because they have any dramatic function, the book ends up scattered and unfocused. But how can a writer decide what fits – and what needs to be cut?

Since July 1, I’ve been using Dramatica Pro to help answer that question with my memoir. While it’s software aimed at fiction writers, memoirists can find it helpful because creative nonfiction uses many of the techniques of fiction. Notably, it gets the writer to develop a narrative structure, and emphasize the aspects of characters in relation to their dramatic function.

This means that those fondly remembered but out of place anecdotes and characters get cut. Other areas that needed to be fleshed out are developed. Whole characters disappear because they serve no purpose. In short, it helps life make sense.

And what you’re left with is a clear guide to the story you plan to tell. When it comes to the revision – adding and deleting scenes and characters – this clarity allows a writer to move forward with speed and boldness. Readers may not notice the underlying structure, but they’ll enjoy reading a stronger story. One that’s foundations are built on rock.

P.S. So I can put more time into the memoir, and less time blogging about it, I plan to update my blog weekly until further notice.

Giving the bigger picture

How easy is to get lost in a memoir where a reader is given so many details to keep track of?

Sometimes, a short paragraph or section allows you to pull the camera back and give the reader the bigger picture.

Sandy Blackburn-Wright’s Holding Up the Sky does this, after a chapter that’s been a whirl of comings and goings:

So I entered the second half of the year enjoying my new home and the growing community in which it was located, with both work and home groups providing stretch and purpose… All was well in my world as I celebrated my twenty-sixth birthday and I was very, very happy. (p.275)

From Sandy’s memoir, and my manuscript, I can see that this summary to help readers get their bearings is best used when a lot of changes have happened in a chapter or a long section or a lot of new information has been introduced.

Getting to know your tools

My father was a skilled carpenter, able to take a piece of wood and mold it into a hand, or an ornate bed end, or other delights that made me proud and envious at once.

I wanted to be like Dad, so I’d pick up the chisels and take them to a practice piece of wood. When my results didn’t equal his, I’d get frustrated and give up.

Launching into things without taking the time to learn my tools is something I still do today. When I got Dramatica Pro (or UK readers here), I followed the quick start option. It’s only now, as I take the time to read the manual as part of my goal of five things a day, that I’m realising how powerful it is.

If you have Dramatica Pro, or plan to get it, one thing I want to point out: in the StoryGuide button, when you click it you’re given the option of Level 1, 2, or 3. I mistook this to mean that when you’ve completed Level 1 it will carry you into Level 2, etc. That’s not how it works. Level 1 asks fewer questions, so it’s quicker to complete. Level 3 asks the most. Just depends on how much detail you need for what you’re working on.

My Dad paid a price of years of learning his tools to create beautiful things. I think I’m finally learning.

African lessons

Reading from the perspective of learning to write effective memoirs is challenging my beliefs about what makes a memoir good.

The one I’m reading now is Sandy Blackburn-Wright’s Holding Up the Sky. Sandy  grew up in Australia with an obsession for Africa. She moved to South Africa in 1988 to serve the community through a youth leadership program in a local church. As the realities of apartheid went from being something that happened on the news, to something that happened to the people she knew, Sandy had to work out how far she’d go to stand up for her beliefs.

Before reading Holding Up the Sky, I’d considered writing my memoir in the style of a novel, where the story is told through scenes – lots of dialogue, little narrative summary, etc. I thought anything else would breach the rule of ’show, don’t tell.’ But Sandy is an excellent storyteller, and she doesn’t use the scene approach. She tells stories, and these stories stick in my mind as clearly as if I’d watched them on TV.

Her writing style suits mine. My background is as a journalist and Sandy’s shown me I can write a memoir sans scenes, and it can have heart.

Also, what I say will be more truthful. Rather than invent dialogue (writing dialogue’s a weakness for me anyway) from dimly remembered conversations 25 years old, I can use the snippets of dialogue I do remember to flesh out the stories.

An unlikely tool

Dramatica Pro (or UK readers here), software created to help writers of novels, short stories, and scripts, seems an unlikely choice as a tool for the memoirist. But what I find useful about it is it helps structure a story on a macro level to create a compelling and satisfying read.

In the first draft of my memoir, I told stories simply because I could remember them. The overall story arc necessary in good creative non-fiction was missing. None of my characters, including myself, had character arcs. It was more autobiography than the memoir I aspired to, following my life’s events in chronological order.

The third draft is somewhat better. Rather than autobiography, the story enters the realm of memoir focusing on the sexual and emotional abuse, and my emerging sexuality. In writing it, I discovered the key relationship in relation to the abuse was between myself and my step-mum. I’d never realised this before. Other people who played significant roles were underdeveloped, including one of the uncles who sexually abused me.

Using Dramatica Pro allows me to see how I need to  rewrite, add, and delete scenes, to meet the needs of the story and character arcs.

I’m devoted to doing five things a day toward completing my memoir. Today, in Dramatica Pro, I added three scenes. I also read one chapter from a memoir, to master the craft by reading. And, of course, created this article.