When you have to write about your toughest moment in
life it can be overwhelming and scary. How do you capture the most difficult
experience (or day) you’ve ever had to go through, and write about it? Where do
you begin?
Well, you have to go back to that day, immerse yourself in that moment. You have to start at the beginning . . . .
Whether you’re writing a memoir, or if you’re using your
experiences for your character’s story, here are 5 tips to help you write about
your hardships:
1. Write
out everything you remember as if you’re writing in a diary that only you will
read. Don’t worry about making it sound intelligent or lyrical. And don’t
filter what you write. Just write! Write through the pain and sorrow you felt.
Write about every painful, ugly detail. Write as if it’ll cleanse your
soul!
2. Read through what you
wrote and rewrite it as if it’s a fictional story. Make sure you show as much
as you tell and add prose, but don’t soften any of it, just work on making it
sound less like a diary entry and more like a book.
3. For
a memoir, if there is something you’d not rather share, you can take it out. It’s
your story, so it’s up to you what you reveal. Leaving something out won’t make
everything else a lie. What you don’t ever want to do is add in something
because you think it makes your story more interesting. Remember to always tell
the truth!
4. Disguise
the people you’re writing about. Even if you write about what they did and
said, you can still keep their identity a secret by giving them a different
name and physical description. You can even change their sex and race. This
will ensure that they won’t experience any backlash in real life from your
memoir.
5. If you’re
giving your past to a character, follow the steps above to make your memory
read like a story and to disguise real people as fictional characters. But you
will also need to change your voice into your character’s voice.
This strategy helps you to stay
anonymous about what you went through, while also sharing it. Only you will
know what parts of your book were inspired by your life, and you can still help
your readers by making your character’s experience as real as your own
experience.
I have used this strategy in my own writing, especially
in my (unpublished) series. I really felt like I was one with my protagonist,
so I gave her my feelings and experiences.
I know a lot of writers use their life as inspiration (as
I do), and write about the bad they’ve endured, but this isn’t true for all
writers.
So I am interested to know which side you stand on . . .
QUESTION: Do you agree that books should be fun and
happy like Meg Cabot, or do you believe in writing about the traumas you endured to
help others like Tracy Strauss?
SHARE: Your tips for writing about your toughest
moment (or a memoir).
