SLO LIFE Jun/Jul 2017

| STORYTELLERS’ CORNER
THE STORY OF
YOUR LIFE
BY FRANZ WISNER
“I
feel like I have a good story inside me… I’m just having a hard time
getting it out.”
I hear this sentiment frequently from people thinking about penning a memoir. In response,
I nod my head and offer a hug. I know the feeling well, having set the world record
for staring at a blank computer screen, wishing for the sentences to magically appear.
Unfortunately, Apple has yet to create an app for that.
FRANZ WISNER is the
founder of The Bestsellers
Group, which provides
brands and individuals with
storytelling assistance from
bestselling authors.
How to write a memoir
So to anyone out there interested in writing a memoir, take a deep breath, pour yourself a
glass of wine, and let’s get started, shall we?
A good place to begin is what a memoir isn’t. Your memoir shouldn’t be a journal or a
travelogue, a therapy recap or a settled score, a self-love-fest or a thank-you note to everyone
in your life. Those approaches might be fascinating for you. For the rest of us? Not so much.
A memoir isn’t your entire life story; rather it should be the most compelling parts of your
life story. “Writing a memoir is easy,” counseled a friend of mine as I struggled with my first
book. “Just keep the interesting bits and cut out the boring stuff.”
So stop looking at your life as a chronology of events. See it in thematic terms. Ask yourself,
what is my story about?
Readers aren’t as interested in the surface action. We don’t want to hear a basic reporting of
events. We want to know what’s really going on. We want the inside scoop, the story you
would tell a best friend. If you had to describe your book to us in a sentence or two, what
would you say?
Popular memoir themes include coming-of-age tales; stories
of recovery or discovery, rebirth or renewal; quests, missions,
or escapes; rags-to-riches or riches-to-rags narratives; or even
a collection of short stories that together form a greater whole.
Your theme could be one of these, a combination, or something
you create on your own.
Still not sure? Try a few themes on for size. Take a look at
other memoirs. How did the author frame the book? If that
doesn’t help, ask fellow writers how they see your story. Their
answers may trigger an approach you hadn’t considered.
Summarizing your life story in a few words can take a lot of
time and, gulp, thought. For some, it’s the hardest part of the
process. Just know that once you finalize the theme, everything
else becomes easier.
The theme becomes our road map from this point. It
lets us know where we are taking our readers and helps
us decide what stops we should make along the way.
Next, list out all the events in your life you think
might make for an interesting part of your book. If
you were making a movie of your life, these would
be all the potential scenes. They could be big events
or small, memorable times shared with others or key
moments alone.
I do this on three-by-five cards. At the top of the card,
I write a sentence that summarizes the surface action.
Underneath, I write another sentence that outlines the
emotional underpinning of the scene. So, for instance,
the surface action could be the birth of a child while
the underlying emotions may include a whirlpool of
joy, pride, fear, insecurity, and giddiness.
I list out the date and location of the scene along with
all the characters involved. I also give each scene an
intensity rating, a number between one and five—ones
and twos for mild or everyday occurrences, fours and
fives for those high-adrenaline moments. I finish
each card with an arrow pointing up for a cheery
scene, down for a downer moment, or sideways for
something in between.
Next, I arrange all the cards in chronological order on
a long table. This allows me to begin to “see” the story.
I try to keep an open mind during this process as I
believe stories have a life of their own. If you listen to
them, they will tell you which portions to emphasize
and which ones to discard.
This is one of my favorite parts of the process. I love
experimenting with story structures. Maybe I start
with a big, dramatic scene, then go back in time and
tell the story of what led to that moment. Maybe
I combine a couple smaller scenes to make a more
compelling chapter.
The whole time I ask myself, “Does this scene further
my story’s theme?” If it does, I keep it in. If not, I cut it
out and paste it in the “Save for Another Book” file.
The same goes for characters. Uncle Ralph might be
a wonderful man, but if he has little to do with your
story’s theme, he’s got to go. You can thank him in the
acknowledgments, or at the family reunion.
I also use the cards to help me make sure my memoir
includes all the essential story elements—beginning
with conflicts and challenges, followed by rising action
(the steps taken to overcome the conflict), ending with
discovery, and a satisfying resolution.
Then, presto. Before I know it, the framework of a
book begins to appear in front of me.
That story inside has started to emerge. SLO LIFE
78 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | JUN/JUL 2017