Friday Speak Out!: Writing a Memoir – Finding Your Voice

by Nancy L. Pressly

Writing a memoir was a completely new undertaking. I approached it without any preconception about how it should be structured, but with the desire to write something meaningful and with the hope that if I was fortunate it might even be recognized with some good reviews. (I was thrilled to get a wonderful review in Kirkus.) I was aware it was important to find my voice, but I did not consciously try to construct it. I knew the voice had to be authentic and reflect who I am as a person. I am empathetic and intuitive by nature and intensely attuned to peoples’ feelings and in the process be psychologically aware. My son has often accused me of wearing my heart on my sleeve, which is true. But this openness, this candor and willingness to be vulnerable and intimate and to share my insights is who I am and became part of my voice in Unlocking.

I also found my voice through the process itself as I let my story slowly unfold. I tried to remember, to find ways to pull back the veils of amnesia that clouded my memories of my parents and childhood and even the town where I grew up. This was part of my journey and my voice reflects this. It carries the reader along with me as I journey back in time, beginning with my retrieval of memories of the physical environment of my childhood, like the intoxicating fragrance of honeysuckle and Lily of the Valley that seemed to be everywhere in our yard and the musty piles of leaves I use to rake and jump into. It was only after I recalled this world in some detail that I could enter the more interior world of our home, the kitchen aromas, the cellar where our cat would have three litters a year, the holiday table, and finally, emotions and family dynamics. I had no idea where it would end up, but I trusted the journey and allowed myself to plummet deep, to stir the unconscious.

Additionally, as an art historian I am visually aware and I came to see in writing this book that my ability not only to look but “to see,” to intuit meaning beneath the surface of works of art was linked to my empathetic and intuitive nature. My empathetic sensitivities informed how I experienced art and thought about the act of making art, and this visual awareness becomes part of voice as well.

Lastly, voice may also be about inspiration and I found that in the process of writing itself, so different than any other writing I had done previously done professionally. It was the first time in my life I felt like a “real” writer. It was liberating.

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Atlanta Portrait Photography

Nancy L. Pressly, a graduate of Goucher College, received her master’s degree in Art History from Columbia University. She began her career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and subsequently held curatorial positions at the Yale Center for British Art and the San Antonio Museum of Art, where she organized several important exhibitions, most notably the acclaimed Fuseli Circle in Rome: Early Romantic Art of the 1770s. In 1984 she became Assistant Director of the Museum Program at the National Endowment for the Artsin 1992 was a visiting Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts; and in 1993 she founded Nancy L. Pressly & Associates, a nationally recognized consulting firm specializing in strategic planning for art museums. She has authored numerous publications, most recently a a book titled Settling the South Carolina Backcountry. She and her husband live in Atlanta, Georgia, close to their son and two grandchildren. https://nancylpressly.com/
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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3 comments art history, Friday Speak Out, Inspiration, memoir, Nancy L. Pressly, writing voice

You Don't Sound like Yourself Today: Character and Voice

Laura Ingalls Wilder, SueBE and SueBE's son.  Each has a distinct voice.

I laughed out loud as I read the e-mail from my sister. Someone had cloned by husband’s e-mail addy and sent her a chatty message. “I knew it wasn’t him unless he’d a personality transplant.” Her clue? Because it included chit chat, the voice was all wrong.

Mom’s, wives and women in general are Miss Marple when it comes to the voice’s of those we know. We can tell when they don’t feel well, have bad news, or are simply repeating what someone else said.

Yet when it comes to our characters, we struggle to find their voices. In part, this is because our characters tend to sound like us. To shake things up, we need to observe how different people say the same thing.

Here are three comments on a manuscript. One from me. One from my husband. One from my son. Can you tell which is which?

1. “?”
2. “I’m not sure what you mean here.”
3. “You don’t have to listen, but if you want to sell this...”

Answers:

1. ? My husband. Mr. Not-Chatty. Simple and straightforward. If he’s feeling particularly effervescent that day it might be expanded to, “This doesn’t make sense.”
2. "I’m not sure what you mean here.” That’s me. I’ve been told that I’m a somewhat aggressive person, I try not to stampede over the top of someone when I comment on their work.
3. “You don’t have to listen, but if you want to sell this...” My son. Mr. Self-Confident. He’s especially brassy when he’s commenting on my work for kids. Since he’s my target audience, he fancies himself an expert.

There is a reason that we each sound the way that we do and it all comes down to who we are.

When you’re having troubles finding a character’s voice, think about the people you know. Is there someone who might sound like your character? What makes this person’s voice distinct? Perhaps it is her vocabulary or a pet phrase. It might have something to do with her vocation, education, birth region or favorite hobby. All of these things influence word choice.

Now consider your character. Think about the ways that your character is like this person. Maybe they are both outgoing, smart, or analytic. Now, think about how they are different. Perhaps your character was born in a different time or place. Someone with a third grade education will sound different from someone with a masters even if they are both intelligent and outgoing.

Last but not least, noodle over your character’s story. What does she want to say more than anything else? Spend about five minutes listening to her tell her tale. Then write it down.

If you've listened well, you’ll find yourself hearing your character’s voice like never before.

–SueBE

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3 comments voice, writing voice

Bucking the Trends

It never fails. Once a Harry Potter-like phenomenon hits, dozens of YA books about wizards and magic follow. Some are successful, while others fall into literary oblivion. A huge chick lit book is made into a major motion picture with Hollywood's hottest stars slated to star in it? Expect chick lit to fill the bookshelves in the next year. This is what happens when trends hit the publishing industry. A lot of new writers will get excited and want to jump on the latest bandwagon, prompting scores of them to blindly send out queries and/or manuscripts, explaining why their book is better than the current bestseller.

This is not always the best approach and here's why:

1. Publishing is a slow business: By the time a writer gets a final draft of a manuscript finished, it could be at least six months to a year after the hot new trend debuts. (If it only takes one month to churn out a "polished" manuscript, there's small chance it's really polished.) Once you start on the querying road, it could be another six months to a year before you get a "yes" from an agent or publisher and then another year or two until the book is actually published. Guess what? The trend is probably dead by then.

2. The trend is not really your style: Say the trend is romance with a quirky heroine; she swears like a sailor and chain smokes, but is really kind to puppies and elderly ladies. If this is right up your alley, it'll show with each enthusiastic word you put on paper. If you're more the crime scene analyst type who's trying to catch the latest serial killer and you force yourself to write about the quirky heroine, chances are she won't ring true and you'll hate every word you have to write about her.

3. Many agents aren't interested in the latest trends: While some agents leap onto the latest bandwagon, some are more concerned with writing that will last the test of time, writing that will become the next generation's classics. The last thing they want to see is the next Narnia chronicle; they want a hero who readers remember long after they close the book.

Instead of spending the next year or two of your life hoping to publish a book whose premise will be outdated and tired by the time readers get their hands on it, spend it crafting a book whose characters you love, whose story is true and whose trend is timelessness.

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1 comment Being a Writer, books, craft of writing, Creativity, Del Sandeen, fiction, Tips, writing, writing craft, writing voice

Typing to the Beat of a New Drummer

Recently a friend of mine went out on an important business trip to New York. As he and his partner were at Kinkos copying a presentation for their big meeting, they happened to glance at the trash bin next to the copier. On top of a pile of crumpled documents was a pristine, unmarred business plan. My friend picked it up and couldn’t believe his eyes. The plan was similar to the one they were intending to write! He quickly snatched it and concealed it in his messenger bag.

A few days later he told me the story. The meeting went spectacular, everything was gangbusters, and finding that business plan was strange... it was serendipity. He wanted to do something similar and use the business plan as a template. And since he never took typing (I call him ‘Sam Peck-n-paw’), I agreed to retype the document for him. I couldn’t bear to see him peck away for days when I could do it in an hour.

As I sat at my keyboard typing, I was reminded of the late author Hunter S. Thompson. This visionary and founder of “Gonzo Journalism” spent his early years typing out the complete works of Faulkner, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. He wanted to know what it was like to write a masterpiece. To feel the voice and rhythm of words from an author he admired. And typing out their novels was the closest thing to it.

I have to admit, it’s amazing. Even though I was simply typing out a random business plan from a complete stranger found in a stinky trash can, I discovered that typing someone else’s words gives you a whole new perspective and understanding. It’s not like reading. It’s completely different. While typing, you hear tone, voice, beat and clarity of thought. You pick up on much more than you would on a quick read-through. You use a multitude of senses.

After I typed the document for my friend, I took a little time and typed the first chapters of my favorite books. For a moment, you can feel exactly what that person is feeling, the pulse of their words, and the bu-dum, bu-dum, heartbeat of their word-song.

If you haven’t tried it before, here’s your challenge:

• Pick out an author you admire and type their first chapter.

• What do you feel?

• Did you discover something different than when you read it?

• How did the words feel at the tips of your fingers? Did you hear their voice?

It's a fun exercise and probably the closest you can get to an author's mind. Hunter S. would be proud.

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2 comments Hunter S. Thompson, typing text, word rhythm, writing voice