Are Those Memoir Writing Metaphors Everywhere, Or Am I Just Plain Nuts?

THERE I WAS, TAKING off the summer. Or so I thought. I made the plans, I put up the notices, I told my clients and continued only one of my online memoir classes. This was to last for July and August, during which time I was planning merely to read and write. That’s all. And then came the writing metaphors. I was literally being pelted by them, as seen in the photo above of the black walnuts that whomped me on the head one day. Low hanging fruit? I thought, as I walked away rubbing my skull. Aren’t there great memoir writing metaphors in there? And suddenly, I was thinking about new ways to teach memoir writing. 

I suspect this happens to you. I suspect that you, too, try to look away from the work only to have the work look you straight in the eyes and refuse to leave your mind or your side. What to do? In this case, it was to create a stream of Instagram lessons about how to write memoir.

I just wasn’t expecting such activity while on break. But there it was, and so here it is for you: What I learned on my summer break from teaching memoir about, well, teaching memoir.

Pluck Your Memoir Writing Metaphors While You May

The first thing I learned is that low hanging fruit is everywhere. I mean, it’s literally everywhere in August, of course. I see it in the apple trees, the black walnuts (above), in the blackcap raspberry bushes, amid the branches of the currents and in the old crabapples along the roads. And while I see incipient pies and jam, of course, what I really seem to see are messages extolling me to write better memoir.

Do you ever feel that way? Do you ever feel those moments packed with memoir writing metaphors? I do, and these metaphors seem to come in two classifications: Direct experiences that would make great story and messages about how to write well. Of course, as my sister Margaret might say, there is that door number three — the option that I might merely be crazy. Yes. Possibly. But let’s not listen to her right now, okay?

As to that first category of metaphor: Do you experience this? Do you feel that pull of a story in your interactions with your children, your partner, your dog and the fruit on the trees? I bet you do. That’s how writers are. They react. Have you noticed that the more memoir you write the more memoir you see? I bet you do. And maybe it feels weird to admit it. Well, instead of keeping it to yourself, I strongly recommend that you gather your metaphor while you may and write.

Do you see a life lesson offered by the kind salesperson who just sold you your child’s first pair of school shoes? Write it down. Do you hear a melody in the first movement of a Beethoven piano sonata that sounds distinctly like your innermost character, and hear your life partner’s theme in the second movement? You’re not nuts. Nope. You’re a writer. So write about it.

Go on. It’s where the good stuff lives. What to do? Read this post on how and why to always carry a notebook when writing memoir. And then look and listen for more.

Finding Story Everywhere

I am art of an ongoing project to help restore a trout stream. And if you are following my Instagram account, you’ve probably seen the photo above of one of my friends after that stream got into his boots. To me, the image perfectly illustrated what writers must do when a story is overflowing. As we write, other stories accumulate around our topic, sometimes to the great detriment of our original theme. What to do? Pour them off.

There is a lot of skill required for such choices, including knowing how to choose the right story to tell. It takes work, but it’s worth it, every time.

One big tip I always offer anyone who is embarking on this great journey of memoir writing is to plan. Planning a memoir is worth every moment you can give it. Thinking it through and then trying to stick to that plan will benefit you greatly in warding off those invasive species that try to take over your tale.

How to Edit Out Tales You Do Not Want to Tell

This photo came to me as I was working on that stream bed. A dedicated group of us has decided to eradicate the invasive species that are doing battle with the native plants. After much consultation with a variety of experts, we were given a three-year plan during which we can attack – and possibly eradicate – such pernicious invaders as the Japanese Knotweed that is plaguing so many communities of the world.

While we were hard at work on the stream, you know what was going on in my head, right? That’s right: Memoir writing metaphors. And so I shot them as I saw them, writing captions between digging in the muck, all the while deepening my appreciation of our favorite genre and wondering how better to define and explain the genre for you.

What is Memoir?

Of course, when I got home from the stream, I was filthy, head to toe. And so, there was laundry to do. And, well, you see the results. Even laundry cannot be done by writers without some consideration for the backstory. And I soon realized that while I’ve written a great deal about what memoir is, I have not said as much on what memoir is not.

So, here is what I think: Memoir is not about airing your laundry. It’s far too good for that, so do not be tempted to merely whine. Instead, try using the details you observe all around you to write what you know. 

The provocation is everywhere. And no, it’s not merely cleaning stream beds that provokes my writing. I’ve also recognized work-related writing themes while cleaning my car.

In short, story is everywhere. It’s on our desks and in our drawers. In fact, I am so convinced that story exists in our objects that I am decidedly against the current trend of tidying up as a way to spark joy. I know, I know: Marie Kondo and I would not get along, but I follow my own advice and write from my stuff. How? This post about how to write a personal essay began one morning after my sister gave me a particular gift.

Memoir Writing Metaphors are Everywhere

And then there is the wonder I see when merely looking out my own backdoor, as I did when I realized that this stone wall provides no end of writing tips. Right away you, too, can see the memoir writing metaphors about the scenes and the structure of a piece of memoir, yes? I wonder what else you see as you view this stone wall laid many years ago by the dear man who built this house. What did he see? Circles. I’m sure you see them now, as well.

After all, what we see and where we see it from is all about perspective. Who, of the many people you have been, have you chosen to write your tale? When I ask my students just who is narrating theirs, they always seem to be perplexed that I would even ask. But think about it. Who is the narrator of your memoir? Which of the many people you’ve been would best relate the tale you need to tell?

Would it be you, at your most fanciful?

Perhaps it would.

Like the photos? Join me on Instagram and follow along as I see memoir writing metaphors everywhere and pass them along to you.

Want more help? Join me in a live, online class

Memoirama: Live, 90 minutes. Everything you need to write what you know.

Memoirama 2. Live, two hours. Limited to seven writers. What you need to know to structure a book.

How to Write Opinion Pieces: Op-eds, Radio Essays and Digital Commentary: Live, 90 minutes. Get your voice out into the world.

And keep in mind that I am now taking names for the  Master Class, the prerequisites for which are Memoirama and Memoirama 2. Live, once a month. Limited to seven writers. Get a first draft of your memoir finished in six months.