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Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University by Mark Kramer , Wendy Call (Editor)
I am writing my life story on an HP mini. I carry it around because I need to be really relaxed to write this. I upgraded to the highest memory, added an extermnal cd-rom and got it in a pretty purple. I am surprised to find I love it for light tasks. (I don't think I could do a novel on it--the keyboard isn't as nice as the one on my desktop replacement.) Other than the less sensitive keyboard, I love this machine. It feels like a fun toy.
Writing Autobiographical Articles
As writers, we’ve learned to give the events in our lives meaning and story. We look for the deeper story behind the small events that make up everyday life.
One of the easier ways to break into print is by sharing what you’ve experienced. There’s no research involved and no complicated plotting. However, writing from personal experience does require skill and practice.
It would seem that writing the personal experience article is easy. After all, you lived the life and you’ve probably talked about it many times. How hard could it be to write it? You’ll find it’s surprisingly difficult until you get some experience behind it.
First you have to distill the information until you find the heart of the issue. Most major events had far too many pieces and too many lessons to get them all into a single article. For instance, I often write about my first volunteer teaching experience in church. I learned dozens of things from the experience, but I can only tell one story at a time. Each time I tell the story, I tell it a bit differently, depending on what I want the reader to take from the story. I leave out every event that isn’t related to the “moral” of the story.
Begin by outlining the story on paper. Then look it over and find the message. This message must be one that can help others in some way, which means it needs to contain a universal truth or show others how to do what you did. Not all events are equally important to others, no matter how interesting they are to you. An article on how you learned to walk again after a devastating accident might interest people if you tell it well and honestly. People like inspiring stories. An article on how you survived the terrible twos with quintuplets will probably interest people because it’s such an unusual and mind-boggling experience that people are curious—it invites the voyeur in us all to peek into a more interesting life. Your personal experience in solving a major problem will interest readers who are working on a similar problem.
What won’t interest readers? They probably won’t care why you decided to become a writer until you’re famous. They’re most likely not interested in reading why you love to quilt unless there is an unexpectedly touching story behind it. The demoralizing truth is that your life isn’t all that interesting to people who don’t know you. In order to hold their attention you have to give them something they need. Look through your life for a message the world needs to hear and then show your readers why your experience matters.
After writing the story, go through and cross out everything that isn’t essential to the story. One of the risks of telling your own stories is the risk of rambling. Many details that are interesting to us won’t be interesting to the reader or will take the story off-track. Make sure nothing is left in the story that doesn’t directly contribute to the understanding of the story or its message. At the same time, make sure you do include anything the reader must know. Some details will seem so obvious to you that you leave them out. This will confuse many readers.
Use the techniques you use in telling fiction to tell your true story. Your story must first be a good story. You needn’t be obvious about the message. We no longer end stories with the phrase, “And the moral of the story is…” Do, though, be certain the message shines through.
