FAST-DRAFT YOUR WAY TO A COMPLETE MEMOIR
FAST-DRAFT YOUR WAYTO A COMPLETEMEMOIRRachael Herron
Rachael Herron23 books (mainstream lit, feminist romance, memoir,and nonficiton), hybrid.Bestselling! Still kinda broke. This isn’t a get rich quickscheme!Instructor at Stanford and Berkeley in the creativewriting depts.
Remember!I am completely right about all of this!Unless I am wrong, and what I say doesn’t work foryou.Don’t trust anyone who says the first sentence withoutadding the second.
What is memoir, anyway?
Your memoir will only cover a fewselect years or a few select issues.Today, we think about those “few.”
Types of Memoirs Celebrity, athletic, political or public mmy Dearest/Growing up dysfunctionalEscape from religious extremismI’ll take you there (zeitgeist)I will survive memoirs/disasterLove and romanceFamily, friendship, and business relationshipsWorkplace or career/businessExploration or adventureIllnessAddiction/recovery memoirsHumorCall to action
Six pivotal momentsWhat events have made you YOU?1. Learned to read, and from that, that there wassomeone behind the words2. Decided to go to grad school for writing, not knowingif it was a good idea or not3. Decided to go into a profession that was uncreative inorder to keep writing4. Finished my first book.5. Got married (learned about love)6. Grieved (learned about loss)
6 Word Memoir For sale, baby shoes, never worn. Fall down, get up.And repeat. Words strungtogether make a life.
Choose a theme/time frame!You, as a character, have to have a characterarc.We see that character change throughnarrative arc. This is crucial.You have to choose.
Character Arc Who has one? All heroes (and antiheroes) You’re the hero.
Why Tell Stories?We want to cause an EMOTIONAL REACTION.The 3-act structure has been around since the Greeks,almost unchanged in its form.Plays and oration were the only form of storytelling forthousands of years until the 15th century. Why?
The Structure of Stories(narrative arc)They’re built this way for a reason.
Your Brain on WordsOur brains believe the tale.Classical language areas of the brain involved in languageprocessing: Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s area.But in 2012, a study found that words with strong odorassociations (lavender, coffee) lit up olfactory cortex.(NeuroImage Journal)Words like velvet and leathery light up the sensory cortex.Words like kick or grab light up the motor cortex.
Keith Oatley (emeritus professor of cognitivepsychology, U of Toronto) has proposed that readingproduces a vivid simulation of reality, one that “runson minds of readers just as computer simulations runon computers.”
Why we scream in movies
Story Structure (Plot)There are as many ways to structure books as there are writerswriting about writing (A LOT!)Common structures you may be familiar with:Hero’s Journey (Joseph Campbell3-act Structure (Aristotle)Save the Cat (Blake Snyder)4-act Structure (Larry Brooks) ß MY FAVEStory Grid
2 sentences!The most important parts ofmy life are measured in tinythings: words and stitches. Mylife’s trajectory can be trackedby writing about the sweatersI’ve made.
Six-Word MemoirSix Pivotal MomentsTwo sentencesLIFE OUTLINE (in chronological order)A LONELY LIFEMemoirOutline8-10 Chapters2-3 scenes per chapterIn chronological order (you canplay with time later1. I was born lonelya. My mother liked to tell me she didn’t see me for the first ten days ofmy lifeb. I was an only child raised in an old-age homec. I wasn’t good at sharing anything2. I was lonely in grade schoola. Kids never remembered what my name wasb. Teachers didn’t notice when I wasn’t there3. I chose a profession in which I could excel at being lonelya. Park ranger in national forest, wildfire lookout, why I wanted itb. First day on the job, fell out of basketc. Boss known to roar – the stories I heard.4. KEEP THIS GOING to 8, 9, 10
Why Not To Write a MemoirThe Anger MemoirThe I’m So Awesome MemoirThe I’m So Sad MemoirThe I Have a Terrible Memory MemoirTRICK! This one is okay!
ShameThe most universal emotionThe strongest emotion
Shame vs. GuiltBRENE BROWN:I believe that guilt is adaptive and helpful – it’s holdingsomething we’ve done or failed to do up against ourvalues and feeling psychological discomfort.I define shame as the intensely painful feeling orexperience of believing that we are flawed and thereforeunworthy of love and belonging – something we’veexperienced, done, or failed to do makes us unworthyof connection.
ShameThe less we talk about it, the stronger it growsThe more we talk about it, the weaker it becomes (andeveryone leans in to really, really listen).
Getting it DoneIn 45 hours? Yes. This is doable.What kind of draft will this be?What if I have to edit as I go?
Tools I UseFreedom45/15sWrite or Die / Written KittenCommunity: RWA, MWA, SFFWA, NaNoWriMo,TwitterDictation
What Comes Next?How to publish your memoir.Trad or Self?Hire your own editor?NYBookEditors.comReedsy.com
Available on all digital salesplatforms (Amazon, Barnes& Noble, iBooks, etc.)Also available in paperbackand audiobook!E-book - 5.99Paperback - 11.99
Stay in Touch!RachaelHerron.comWriter’s weekly email: RachaelHerron.com/writeCoaching: RachaelHerron.com/coachTwitter/FacebookRetreats (West Coast in Sept, Venice in April)Podcasts:How Do You Write?The Writer’s Well
Addiction/recovery memoirs Humor Call to action . 1. Learned to read, and from that, that there was someone behind the words 2. Decided to go to grad school for writing, not knowing if it was a good idea or not 3. Decided to go into a profession that was uncreative in order to keep writing .
The MikroTik Fast Path and Conntrack's work together gave the name Fast Track. Fast Track Fast Path extentions Only Ipv4 TCP/UDP (Total Traffic %99) FastTrack management is left to network admin FastTrack can be used on devices with Fast Path support. After the first packet of the connection passing through the router is marked as Fast Track .
work/products (Beading, Candles, Carving, Food Products, Soap, Weaving, etc.) ⃝I understand that if my work contains Indigenous visual representation that it is a reflection of the Indigenous culture of my native region. ⃝To the best of my knowledge, my work/products fall within Craft Council standards and expectations with respect to
The best way to fast track your career as a manager is to fast track the contribution you and your team make to your organization and for your team to be successful in as public a way as possible. That's what the Fast Track series is about. The Fast Track manager delivers against per-formance expectations, is personally highly effective and .
Daniel Fast during which they will use this fast to refrain from secular distractions and increase their time in prayer and Bible study. Here are some ways one might conduct a Daniel Fast or a Modified Daniel Fast: FAST SPECIFIC FOOD AND/OR DRINK: This is an accurate representation of the Daniel Fast where Daniel refrained from eating rich food or
Final Date for TC First Draft Meeting 6/14/2018 3/15/2018 Posting of First Draft and TC Ballot 8/02/2018 4/26/2018 Final date for Receipt of TC First Draft ballot 8/23/2018 5/17/2018 Final date for Receipt of TC First Draft ballot - recirc 8/30/2018 5/24/2018 Posting of First Draft for CC Meeting 5/31/2018 Final date for CC First Draft Meeting .
DRAFT DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS DRAFT DOCUMENT DRAFT DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS DRAFT DOCUMENT . means a quantity standard for determining throughput of game carcasses in a . The Scheme is applicable throughout the Republic of South
to conditions that resulted from austerity following the financial crisis of 2008. . Broadly speaking three ‘waves’ of feminism have occurred in the EU . organisations that have appeared in the five-year period up to 2015 and that e
Furnace Draft Control Delayed Coking Operational Optimization Draft should be measured under the first row of convection tubes High Draft causes more air leakage and lowers the heater's efficiency, the higher the draft higher the leakage. High draft changes the burner flame pattern-longer flames. High draft can cause a heater .
