Plot-Planning For Memoirists
One week till National Novel Writing Month–regretting your participation yet?
I don’t, despite the insanity, because it’s the one time a year when I get any real work accomplished [or so it seems]. But this year differs because I’ve gone the rebellious route–in lieu of a novel, my 2010 project will link several short memoir pieces under a common theme: Side Effects. It will represent the ripples created throughout my life and how they shape who I’ve become, where I’m headed, etc.
Preparation is hailed as the most important factor in achieving NaNoWriMo success. Not the biggest problem for folks venturing a fictitious realm, but what of us memoir rebels? Memoir is [based on] fact. Tales of a person’s life, told as truthfully as memory allows. Preparation, then, is an effortless task. It’s all stored in the mind for easy access and has limited possibilities.
Wrong.
Preparation for memoir, I find, requires more time than fiction. Fiction opens opportunity to go somewhere unexpected with the story. Non-fiction has its foundation in reality, yet anyone could easily write on forever without a guide. That’s the goal of free-association. But each of my stories should have a purpose. A direction and theme toward which they must drive. That deems it necessary to plan what to include.
So when I sat down [yesterday] to begin my preparation, my first step was relevancy. Would I like to write about how I had a blast getting lost at Blizzard Beach? Of course! So much potential. Is it relevant to my ‘ripples’ theme? Maaaybe if I stretched it far and wide. With 30 days to answer to, I’d rather not waste my time cherishing something that is sure to get cut by the next draft.
The brilliant thing about memoir, though, is if there are tiny bits here and there that fit the larger theme, the Judgment of Creativity law states a writer can merge those ideas into one. Did I have many people throughout my childhood actively supporting my writer-career decision?
…actually, no. 
We’re all equally poor. 
But if I did, I could merge those names into one character, et voilà! Magical miracle: a montage-esque memoir.
Another benefit of the creativity license is changing names, switching traits for certain characters. Simple ways to avoid that always-dreadful comment from rellies–you know, the one that resembles “This is how you think I am?!” and is unfortunately harder to avoid answering excuse in memoir v. fiction.
It’s important to stay true to a story and not fixate on how readers will take it. Some will love it, others resent it. As with everything else in the world.
If you’re like me, you’ll milk creativity dry. It’s memoir, not biography. It’s my POV, no one else’s. I can refer to my characters however I want because it’s my story to tell.
BUT, for sanity’s sake, names will stay as is until after November. No use making a list of changes from [my] reality now, after all. November is challenging enough!
On that note, guess what: We’ve made it! One year of [almost] consistent blogging and still alive. A milestone worthy of celebration, especially given how difficult it is to maintain a routine writing schedule. But where to go from here? With so many ways to handle a blog, I’m only starting to get a feel for what works on my end. One thing I have planned is more analysis-type posts. They’re enjoyable, interactive, and essentially required when studying the craft of writing (regardless of genre).
Send along your ideas, too–what “new” blogging stuff should I venture now that I’ve mastered the art of discipline?
Paparazzi At Sean Penn’s Wedding
“Welcome! Today, we’re going to create a sitcom.”
Terrifying way to introduce a lecture on television scripting. By the end of the seminar, we had a grand set up involving the main character, Sophia, successfully achieving paparazzi pictures of Sean Penn’s ruined wedding ceremony ^.^
My pursuit of screen-writing has only been active just under a year, but I’ve learnt a few things along the way. This seminar allowed me to understand why television is structured with seven acts and taught me the five crucial elements needed to create effective, marketable teleplays.
So what’s the “big secret” to television? The five crucial elements (drum-roll, please):
I. protagonist
II. protagonist’s need
III. stakes in protagonist’s way
IV. antagonist
V. opposite need of protagonist
Okay–not too shocking, if you know anything about writing. Every good story requires these elements.
Alan Zatkow, the guest-speaker, noted repeatedly that with all the scripts out there, agencies look for reasons to disqualify you without a single read. If script-readers find your story lacking an element, or parts of it, for whatever reason, you’re gone (eek! watch out for typos!)
With each day in my screen-writing studies, I find it easier and entertaining to dissect the shows I watch. For this reason, even though a lot of what the seminar taught seems like one big DUH, the discussion on the “Seven-Act” structure fascinates me the most.
Television shows, as a rule, have three story-lines per episode (A, B, C). Each story must have the typical beginning/middle/end structure. Yes, math geeks (and I use that term with endearment, of course), that adds up to nine, not seven. Here’s where Zatkow’s explanation fuels my dissection hobby:
The final acts for A and B are meant to collide, creating controlled chaos. In other words, chaos planned by the author–a concept I love to employ!
The more an author combines stories in an episode (this includes A, B, and C), the more brilliant her talents appear to script readers.
Very cool. 
Aside from networking and doubling my motivation for graduate school, Saturday’s seminar has added a new layer to my telly-watching radar.
Zatkow’s emphasis on structure creates a strong parallel between television writing and music composition: Structure MUST exist, but when an author combines the right amounts of complexity and originality to that structure, it disappears in the action. The story drives emotions, reels in the audience, and passes time. Makes studying shows somewhat of a treasure hunt with distractions, but I’m up for the challenge!
Besides, rules are “more like guidelines,” anyway
A Book Addict’s Reasoning
Every bookworm avid reader understands the seductive power of books. Books possess an enchanting nature. Being around them fills us with an unsatisfied desire to consume more and more. There’s a self-help book for biblioholism. Entertaining though it may be, the first two chapters that I’ve read did little to help me overcome my addiction. In fact, it seemed to add fuel! ^.^
Tom Raabe’s book starts with a little anecdote about how he has “total control” over his book addiction. He has good reason to have multiple copies of the same title–they’re different editions, after all! Then the unthinkable happens: he finds two copies of the same book, same edition, same publication company.
Thankfully, my own addiction to books hasn’t gone so far. I’m a college grad, so while an exuberant personal library is an attractive hobby, it’s not necessarily practical. I’ve moved around too much in the past four years, forced to choose a select few “best” to journey with me. Resisting bookstore purchases is helped by the necessity to save money. (used bookstores have a more inviting atmosphere anyhoot)
Lately, however, the books’ voices speak to me again. (Side-note to mention that they don’t literally speak to me. That would be crazy! Rather, it’s akin to the cinematic representation of Mo Folchart‘s special gift, which incidentally, is one of my few preferable “additions” to Inkheart‘s film adaptation. Moving on…) They call out when I’m near, whispering: “Pick me!”
I tend to be extra picky with my tastes in books. The pattern is a continuous shift from one series to another based on whether or not I’m hooked. The only time I seem to enjoy “independent” novels is when they’ve been highly recommended, or they’re classics that I pick up because “everyone” has read them, or at least knows the story. Despite the age-old saying Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover, I do.
I can’t help it.
I’m a visualiser; book covers are as crucial in my decision to open them as titles and opening paragraphs. I like my books to be pretty, or at least give me an idea about the style and/or tone of a novel. The visual representation must give me a sense of the contents, or I pass it by for the next book on the shelf.
Having said that, when I first set eyes on the latest edition of Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, I knew I needed it.
Without question.
The cover is simple, elegant. It reminds me of an historical narrative, actually. A young woman standing on a hill. The colours are sullen; neither too bright nor too dark.
Knowing the contents of the novel, I feel the cover helps set the tone a lot more than the original cover art. It’s a serious piece, expressing an alternate perspective on “the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” which are far from cheerful, or even straight-out evil. The novel depicts those fabulous grey areas to which I’m constantly drawn. Nothing is purely black or white, and Elphaba has a past that reveals more depth than the simple villain who kidnaps Dorothy Gale. There’s a reason she wants those slippers and it’s not just because they belonged to her sister.
Though the Broadway version of Wicked lightens the tone and fills it with family-friendly elements, the novel itself is written for an adult audience. There are many questionable elements best left to mature readers (just my opinion, of course). For that reason, I just feel like the new edition cover better fits the content. Not that there’s anything wrong with the original artwork. But cover art is influential, so it makes sense that it should reflect the story.
