Photo: Charlene Edge journals at airport in Peru. 2011. Love those boots! Photo by Hoyt Edge.
Hello, readers! When something wonderful, momentous, or strange happens to you, do you ever think, “I’ve got to write about this!” If that’s true for you, then this post about memoir writing may help.
At the end of this post, you’ll find my recommended books about writing memoirs. Memoirs are in the category of non-fiction, and they cover only a slice of an author’s life, not the whole pie, which would be an autobiography. The booklist is also tucked in my second book, From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life, in the section “Writing Memoir,” just in case you have it, hint, hint. But first…
Work with all your intelligence and love. Work freely and rollickingly as though you were talking to a friend who loves you. Mentally (at least three or four times a day) thumb your nose at all know-it-alls, jeerers, critics, and doubters.
Let’s talk about memoir
As I mentioned, memoirs are in the non-fiction genre, which means what’s written in a memoir happened in real life, BUT what makes memoirs unique is they also give you the author’s current-day reflections on that part of their life, and usually after a good amount of time has passed. It is that long-view perspective in memoir that gives it richness, meaning, and depth.
If you want to write something about your life, comb through some keepsakes, like family heirlooms and photos. They can serve as pathways into memories. Jot down how you feel when you look at them, consider where they came from, reflect on the people associated with them and how they’ve changed over time. Consider their impact on you. Don’t wait. Seize the day. Seize the pen. Seize the laptop and write something, anything. The journey to a completed memoir begins with the first sentence.
I’m working on one about my maternal grandmother, inspired by a photo I have. Here’s a little of the story:
There’s my mom in her shiny white wedding gown, the wind tossing her veil in the sun. My father is next to her, not smiling but not frowning, either. Maybe the sun was in his eyes. They’re with all their family members assembled on the lawn of my grandparents’ house in Newport, Rhode Island. My parents just married at St. Joseph’s Church. It’s October, during WWII. Surely among this group gathered on the lawn there is a stirred-up mix of joy and grave concern like a rug laying underneath that joy. Look at my father’s face as he gazes at you, standing at attention in his Army uniform. But it’s Nana I am drawn to. Her oldest daughter just married an active-duty soldier. What can possibly go wrong?
Books I recommend for writing memoir
Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art by Judith Barrington
Composing a Life by Mary Catherine Bateson
The Business of Memoir: The Art of Remembering in an Age of Forgetting by Charles Baxter
The Art of Time in Memoir: Then, Again by Sven Birkerts
The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr
I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory by Patricia Hampl
Your Life as Story: Discovering the “New Autobiography” and Writing Memoir as Literature by Tristine Rainer
Charlene Edge grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in a Roman Catholic family during the 1950s and 1960s. At college in 1970, fellow students recruited her into The Way International, a Bible-based cult. She became a leader and biblical researcher in The Way, but after she discovered what The Way really was, she escaped its headquarters in 1987. Charlene's books Charlene Edge is the author of two books. Her award-winning memoir titled, Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International (2017) and ... From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life (2022). It includes: More than thirty essays on the writing life and craft Charlene’s short stories and poems illustrating essay topics Nourishing insights from well-known authors and poets Recommended books for writing memoir, poetry, fiction, and travel stories She launched From the Porch to the Page at the Winter Park ...
Greetings, readers! Are you interested in writing your life story? Or have you ever just wondered what the difference is between autobiography and memoir? The short answer is that autobiography tells a person's lifetime story. A memoir focuses on a slice of that lifetime. Here's a few specifics on memoir that I've shared at presentations I've given about the art of writing memoir. I learned these things before and during writing my own memoir, Undertow . What is memoir? 1. It's a personal investigation: your blood, sweat, tears, and sleepless nights. “… the memoir writer takes us back to some corner of his or her past that was unusually intense childhood, for instance or that was framed by war or some other upheaval.” (i.e. Russell Baker’s Growing Up). From On Writing Well, by William Zinsser 2. It's about a specific time of your life. “It’s an act of writing frozen in a unique time and place.” ~ Zinsser 3. It's a narrative of “then.” “Think narrow, the...
Greetings, readers. Welcome to my new blog, "Charlene Lamy Edge Speaks about Writing." This is the first official post. Today, I want to be sure you know I published a guidebook for the writing life. It came out in 2022, five years after I published my first book, Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International . From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life is not only about the writing life and craft, it also offers some of my original work, such as 25 of my poems. I've nicknamed this book PORCH. It's available at major online booksellers in paperback and eBook. It can be ordered by Indie bookstores and public libraries, too, just like Undertow can. What is PORCH all about? Beginning with “Readers Become Writers” and ending with “If You Want to Keep Writing,” Edge’s encouraging and gentle book highlights the vistas, detours, and delights on the writing path, along with truths we can all apply to poetry, prose...
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