Writing & Selling Memoirs: Know Where Your Memoir Fits - Part IV

“The Hook” is the center of every marketable book and is the key element in making a memoir marketable. Your uniqueness, controversy, tragedy, inspiration, shocking or funny story is the thin S-curve device clutching the heart and mind of a reader and publisher. Once “The Hook” grabs your audience, it will be up to your strong writing skills to keep them turning your pages.

According to Paula Balzer's  article in Writer’s Digest  July/August 2010,  “A Hook for Every Book”, memoir writing is not just about a history of your life. The article shares many tips to help you present your story in an interesting and marketable fashion.Yes, your hook will capture the attention of agents and editors but it will take your writing style and story to keep the momentum moving.

Distinguish Hook from Theme

You want your good book to be a great one and not just another spiritual journey for example. Your hook will take the reader along and as you painfully scratch crusted scabs from your wounds your audience will experience the healing process with you as you live it. It is important to note that your hook and the underlying theme of your memoir are not necessarily the same thing. You must be able to discern the difference between the two if you want to write an unforgettable memoir.

Effective hooks:

• Bring something new to the table.
• Go beyond the theme of the memoir.
• Can be summed up in a sentence or two.
• Are provocative and memorable.

Know where your book fits – 

a few categories to get you started

Self-discovery, soul-searching, healing, survival and courage, a journey defined by pain but can show hope for others there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Example, “The Middle Place” by Kelly Corrigan

Love and relationships is not always about romantic love. Susan Richards’ “Chosen by a Horse” about a broken woman learning more from an abused animal than she ever imagined.

Family secrets – oh yes the juicy stuff but more than that, a unique perspective on courage and understanding can cover a wide variety of subjects. For instance in Bliss Broyard’s “One Drop” she investigates her father’s secret of having African-American roots. This is not exploitation but exploration of family dynamics which could make or break a family unit.

Read a Memoir
It’s a good idea to see how an author develops a hook and how they take an ordinary subject to make an unusual tale about pursuit of truth. Go to Writers Digest.com for the rest of the story.

I hope your interest is peaked for writing memoirs. Look for Paula Balzer’s new book “Writing and Selling Your Memoir” forthcoming  spring of 2011.

Next week - Part V – Ineffective hooks and more exercises on how to define your hook.

You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration.

James Allen

Until next time
Carma

Memoir Writing: Build Your Arc - Keep Your Memoir Afloat - Part III

When writing your memoir remember you are the action hero and the arc of your story is essential in determining what part needs dramatizing. Building your arc should be done before you begin any form of outline. An arc looks like the Bell curve used in some schools to bring up the grade average of a class. You begin low, reach a crescendo then begin the decline to the climax.

Beginning steps for constructing an arc.

1. The Desire Line - What was your life's desire? This will drive the book.
2. Actions and Obstacles - What did you do or want and what got in your way?
3. Emotional Beats - A memoir is an emotional journey. The events are not there because they happened but to show emotion you go through.
4. The Initiating Incident - This comes near the beginning and is the main cause of your troubles.
5. The Ending Incident - Your desire will define the ending.

Adair Lara's article, "Elements of an Effective Arc", in the July/August issue of Writer's Digest, explains in detail how to draw an arc and how emotions and obstacles are the heart beat of your story.

Lara says "Drawing your arc is not something you can knock out in the half-hour before dinner."

Get your toolbox ready,

Next week, Part IV - Turn Your story into a marketable memoir.
Carma

Memoir Writing: Don't Gloss Over the Tough Stuff - Part II

No one knows your story like you do. However, reliving your past will raise memories that have been tucked away in the darkest corner of your mind. If you are driven to tell "your story" the darkest memories are what will drive it forward. They are the crux of your life. You learned and grew because of  them. They must be brought to the surface.

Read Laurie Rosin's full article "Full Disclosure" in Writer's Digest July/August 2010 issue and learn why full disclosure in a memoir is important. This is an eye opening article. Below are my notes.

Three Reasons to Disclose Painful Memories

1. Omissions can leave holes in your narrative.
Once you build the suspense to white knuckle level, you can't say "and next the police came". Whoaaa. I am at that point in my memoir. I have deep dark secrets I don't want my family to know but they need to know what shaped me and my readers deserve the full story.

2. Readers are drawn to authentic, motivated characters.
If your story is one you hope to encourage others with, tell the truth. Did you face a devastating rejection marring your sense of self worth for forty years, claim it. Your readers want a hero.

Laurie writes "First and foremost, remember that readers will be rooting for you. Memoirists are the protagonists of their own books."


3. Strong stories require dramatic unity.
It takes courage to relive traumatic events. When I write about my father's sudden death when I was sixteen and my first divorce at eighteen; it will be painful. Some memories are like snapshots in my mind. As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words". Don't hold back events that shaped you into the success you have become.

What's it all about-----?

Friday - Part III - Build your story around a Foolproof Framework

Carma