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Mark David Gerson
a book bubble about
From Memory to Memoir
Self-Help
Author Insight
Your Memoir Is Smarter Than You Are
One of the things I’ve discovered through my decades as an author is that every book is its own entity, independent of the writer. Every book has its own vision for itself, independent of the writer. Every book has its own imperative, independent of the writer. We writers exist solely to translate the energy of that vision and imperative onto the page, to take what is invisible to the naked eye and make it manifest. When I began my “Acts of Surrender” memoir, for example, I had no theme and no title. All I had was a powerful call to write a memoir and a chaotic mishmash of unrelated stories. But if I’ve learned anything through my creative life, it’s that the story knows best. Always. And that’s just as true with memoir as it is with fiction. I’ve learned too that if I start writing, the story will show itself to me, in the writing of it…which is what happened with Acts of Surrender: As I wrote, I discovered themes in my life I hadn’t known were there. And as I surrendered to the experience, the chaos dissolved and the book’s perfect form, shape, structure and title emerged, as if by magic. I may have owned my story, but my memoir clearly owned the book!
Book Excerpt
From Memory to Memoir
Rule #14
Your Memoir Owns Your Book
“I didn’t really know what my memoir was about until I finished my first draft,” author Karen Walker has confessed about her award-nominated Following the Whispers. I had a similar experience with Acts of Surrender.
Your job, yes, is to tell your story; but it’s to tell your story as the memoir-book would have you tell it.
At the same time, be aware that this book that is your memoir is a trickster: It will do whatever it takes to get the ultimate story out of you, even if there’s trickery involved along the way. Karen Walker began her book thinking she was writing one story. The memoir that emerged was more insightful and compelling than anything she could have planned or imagined.
Let go all preconceptions, assumptions and expectations about what your memoir is or should be, and trust that it will reveal its true nature to you in the writing of it. Let your memoir have its own life through you, and trust that your memoir’s innate wisdom will weave the story that will best serve it, serve you and serve your readers. Surrender to that innate wisdom. Get out of your memoir’s way (get out of your way) and let the story tell itself through you.
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