The Space Between: Giving Voice to Real Life Stories

by

Janine Harrison

 

www.janineharrison.live

 

What is your story?  Do you want to give it voice?  If so, how?  As a memoir?  As an autobiography?  Does your story include that of an ancestor or mentor?  Perhaps the influential someone accomplished a feat that defied expectations set for his or her gender, race, or social class?  Or contributed to the betterment of humankind in a notable way?  If so, maybe a biography is in order.  No matter the answers to these questions, it is essential for anyone interested in writing a form of creative nonfiction (CN), such as memoir, autobiography, or biography, to understand the differences between the sub-genres and the conventions therein. 

For the uninitiated, a book that I have used to introduce creative nonfiction to college undergraduates is Writing True:  The Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction by Sondra Perl and Mimi Schwartz.  The work explains CN in a clear and concise manner; discusses various facets from prewriting and voice to research and ethics; and then introduces various sub-genres, providing examples of each in the form of essays and excerpts.  

Even though in many bookstores today all long-form CN sub-genres are still lumped under the category, “Biography,” distinctions need to be made between the three types.  Usually in school, we are taught that “autobiography” refers to one’s own story and “biography” refers to someone else’s story.  What about “memoir,” though?  Some people consider autobiography and memoir to be synonymous, when actually, they are quite different. 

Whereas an autobiography records a person’s life from birth to death in a chronological manner, a memoir may be organized in any number of ways.  A memoirist may choose to cover a large span in time or he or she may ­­­concentrate on a particular time period instead.  Memoir may be organized thematically or spatially.  It may be in collage form or as quilted patches of vignettes.  The form, in fact, has considerably more “elbow room” in relation to structure.  In addition, while autobiography contains a voice that primarily tells the author’s story, in memoir, showing is the primary mode. 

A book that I highly recommend reading prior to committing pen to paper in draft form is Philip Gerard’s Creative Nonfiction:  Researching and Crafting Stories of Real Life.  Although it is not exclusive to memoir, the author provides an in-depth look at the characteristics that distinguish CN from fiction as well as at the research and crafting processes that are appropriate for long-form work.   

A more recently published resource that is memoir specific is Mary Karr’s The Art of Memoir, which, according to memoirist Cheryl Strayed, “Will be the definitive book on reading and writing memoir for years to come.”  The guide, which is written in a straight forward and entertaining manner, shows writers how to overcome writers’ block, understand voice and ethics, and appreciate the craft stage of writing; it even includes a list of recommended reads.

As for me, I recommend reading Mary Karr’s The Liar’s Club and Cheryl Strayed’s Wild for excellent examples of voices that work in memoir writing.  Both women writers’ stories are depicted with a good balance of factual and emotional truth; each one faces her dragons (ranging from substance abuse to family dysfunction to grief), and, at the same time, uses humor to help the medicine of reality go down smoothly. 

Happy reading!

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Janine Harrison, M.A., M.F.A. poet, fiction writer, and nonfictionist, teaches creative writing at Purdue University Northwest and is a former Indiana Writers’ Consortium president.  Her work has appeared in Veils, Halos, & Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression and Empowerment of Women, A&U, Not Like the Rest of Us:  An Anthology of Contemporary Indiana Writers, and other publications. Former Indiana Poet Laureate George Kalamaras included Janine in his The Wabash Watershed “Six Indiana Women Poets” feature.  For additional information, please visit her website:  www.janineharrison.live.

Telling History through Story

by

Kathryn Page Camp

 

www.kathrynpagecamp.com

 

When I was a child, I hated history. Well, hated may be too strong a word. It’s probably more accurate to say that history bored me. But I loved reading, and I loved stories.

 

I also loved what I used to call the "blue true books.” They were biographies of famous Americans that concentrated on the childhood years, and they had a blue cloth cover at that time. As the picture shows, the cover has changed over the years, and the series now has an official name: “Childhood of Famous Americans.” I’m guessing that many of the incidents in them are pure fiction, at least for the earlier books that would have been harder to research.

 

But I learned something about history because it was told as an engaging story.

 

These days I enjoy history in most forms, but I still prefer it as story. My library contains an ever-increasing number of memoirs and autobiographies and first-person accounts of historical events. When those primary sources aren’t available, or when they need supplementing, I turn to well-written biographies and other secondary sources. And I still read the "blue true books" when I come across them at used book sales or museum book stores.

 

Even as an adult, I learn best when history is told as story. That’s a good lesson for authors who write history as either fiction or non-fiction. If you want to capture the attention of a reluctant audience, use story. Don’t just write about the 4^th of July—write about people who lived it.

 

One other caveat. Even when writing fiction, the story must be historically realistic. Not every detail needs to be accurate, but it must be true-to-life.

 

I recently heard about a novel set at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. It sounded interesting, so I went on Amazon and read the reviews. They said it was well told but historically inaccurate. The author had the Americans liberating the camp instead of the Soviets. So even though it might have been an engaging story, I didn’t buy it.

 

But as long as you keep the important details intact, you can broaden your audience by telling history through story.

 

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Kathryn Page Camp is a licensed attorney and full-time writer. Her most recent book, Writers in Wonderland: Keeping Your Words Legal (KP/PK Publishing 2013), is a Kirkus’ Indie Books of the Month Selection. Kathryn is also the author of In God We Trust: How the Supreme Court’s First Amendment Decisions Affect Organized Religion (FaithWalk Publishing 2006) and numerous articles. You can learn more about Kathryn at www.kathrynpagecamp.com.