Check out this slideshow from my two-hour workshop at the 2013 Northwestern Summer Writers Conference on essay and memoir writing. Michele Weldon is an author and essayist and has taught journalism on the graduate and undergraduate levels at The Medill School, Northwestern, since 1996.

1. Shaping The
Personal Narrative
memoir, essays and blogs
Michele Weldon
Northwestern Summer
Writers
August 2, 2013

2. Part One: The Writing Nitty Gritty
 How and why to write personal narrative
 My promise to you and your writing goals
 The rules of engagement in this workshop

3. Climate supports the explosion of
personal memoir, autobiography,
anecdotal journalism, personal essays,
opinion.
 Intense cultural preoccupation with true
personal stories.

4. But tell no lies.

5. Blog, essay, chapter, book.
 Every piece of writing should be excellent.

6. You cannot be a good writer
without knowing good writing.
1. www.narrativemagazine.com
2. http://byliner.com/
3. http://www.dgquarterly.com/
4. http://www.brainpickings.org/
5. http://www.niemanstoryboard.org/category/notable-narrativ
6. https://www.atavist.com/
https://www.atavist.com/

7. A writer can successfully adopt
different writing modes.

8. You must decide on one option at
a time.
 Is your story an essay?
 Is it a blog?
 Is it a column?
 A chapter?
 A book?
 PICK ONE AND PROCEED.
 You can change your mind after you are
done.

9. Who would read about your life?
“I am the only truth I know.”
--Jean Rhys
“We are talking about tools and carpentry, about words and style. But
as we move along, you’d do well to remember, we are also talking
about magic.”
--Stephen King

10. The leap of faith: Three years of stolen
moments leads to book #1.

11. It’s not your whole life. It’s a part of it.

12. Basements and file cabinets are full of
unpublished memoirs.
 Just telling a story is not enough.
 Tell it well.
 Must transcend the immediate.
 Must offer genuine connection
 Authenticity

13. How old are you?

14. The personal is universal.
 Who else to tell your
story but you?
 “No one ever died
from writing it
down.”—Natalie
Goldberg
 You own your own
story.

15. “You don’t write because you want to
say something. You write because you
have something to say.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Start with personal essays for
magazines to test the waters.

16. Weldon’s Rules of Writing:
 Fear interferes.
 Write the talk
 Get out of your writing space
 Observe keenly
 Keep reporting, researching, polishing
 Dare to take writing risks

17. Life is a road trip.
Look out the window.
Where do you fit in?

18. Writing Assignment # 1:
Be creative and fresh.
 “No one can write well by rules, especially
those who cannot feel or think or see.”
 --H.L. Mencken
What is your
memoir/essay idea?
Give a one-sentence synopsis.

19. Separating life from art.
 Beyond a chronology
 What is larger truth?
 What does experience say about your place
in the world?
 Can others relate?

20. Beyond navel-gazing.
 “The writer’s fundamental attempt is to
understand the meaning of his own
experiences. If he can’t break through those
issues that concern him deeply, he’s not
going to be very good.
 Robert Penn Warren

21. In the You Tube, Twitter, MySpace culture of personal story as
epistle, just telling what happened is not enough.
 “We have personal blind spots. It’s
understandable, if mildly tedious, from
people waving around pictures of their kids
or wanting to pore through snapshots from
their vacations or sit through their home
movies of the family washing the dog. From
a writer, it’s unforgivable and probably
unpublishable.”
– –Ansen Dibell, Plot

22. Is it a memoir or just a memory?
 “What you need to ask yourself about any
story idea, is whether it’s something that’s
too personal, something that’s very important
to you, but would justifiably bore a stranger
sitting next to you on a cross-country bus.”
 Ansen Dibell

23. What does it mean to anyone else?
WHY?

24. Writing Assignment # 2:
 What is your story really about? One-
sentence no more than 12 words.

25. The craft matters.
 “You can write about anything and if you
write well enough, even the reader with no
intrinsic interest in the subject will become
involved.”
 Tracy Kidder

26. How you write as important as what
your write.
 Word choice
 Sentence length
 Pace
 Music of the writing.

27. Believe in the value of metaphor.
 Create verbal imagery
 Be original
 How would you describe
 this sky?

28. Use all your senses.

29. Channel the passion.
 “Find a subject you care about and which you
in your heart feel others should care about. It
is this genuine caring, not your games with
language which will be the most seductive
and compelling element in your style.”
– Kurt Vonnegut
– http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/isabel_allende_tells_tales_of_p

30. No excuses writing.
 Writing is talking on paper.
 You’re not wasting paper.
 Your story is worth your time.

31. Readers are rubber-neckers.
 They will stop and look, but you must
answer:
– What does it mean to me?
– Why should I care?
– So what?
– How is your story more compelling than any
other?

32. So what?
 You need to tell the truth
 Others want to know
 Others need to know
 Others should know
 The truth is bigger than you

33. Recognize good writing.
 Authentic
 Compelling
 Poignant
 Precise
 Clear
 Moving
 http://www.narrativemagazine.com/

34. Find the magic.
 “If writing is thinking and discovery and
selection and order and meaning, it is also
awe and reverence and mystery and magic.”
 Toni Morrison

35. Report the details.
 Interview
 Research
 Find the answers to the fuzz
 “A writer does not explore anything by
staying inside, safe from the beetles and the
rain.” --Nelson Algren

36. Good writing and reporting can
never be divorced.
 Good writing comes from abundance, not
paucity.
 You want to have more information than you
can use. You never want to have too little.
 Over-report, but never over-write.
 Learn to love a full notebook.

37. Have faith.
 “We are not all celebrities, we are not all
supertalented, but in one way or another, we
are all witnesses. Reality defines our vision
of the world. And what we have seen, we
must tell others.”
– --Roman Milisic

38. What’s The Big Idea?
 One-sentence active-voice declaration of
what you intend to write about.
 Not too broad, not too narrow.
 Writing Assignment # 3: Translate first
two assignments into Big Idea.

39. Out of your body and onto the paper.

40. Good writing is fully dimensional.
 Write in layers. Go back.
 Revise.
 Let it breathe.
 Take stuff out.
 Put stuff in.

41. Be undeletable.
 Commit writing that is clear, lyrical, eloquent,
compelling.
 No clutter
 Not too much, not too little

42. Writing people remember.
 Reliable is better than
predictable.
 Fresh is better than
rehashed.
 Use your own voice.

43. What is hot?
 Move beyond a retelling of events, chronology
 Create “Aha!” moments for readers
 Deliver clean style and reliable information with
different levels and approaches
 Give readers what they need and want to know,
and also what they don’t want to know, but
should.
 Give them something to talk about
 Offer a personality with your byline

44. Solid storytelling using narrative
techniques
 Expose details not widely known
 Anecdotal, personal approach
 Sublime description and use of metaphors
 Perform a clichectomy in all stories
 Liberal use of quotes, dialogue
 New point of view

45. All of it told in your own voice.

46. “Voice” as a writer means:
1. Word choice
2. Approach
3. Structure, Cadence
4. Tone
5. All of the above

47. Start with a roadmap. A plan.
 Bring it into focus. You decide the view.

48. How you tell the story matters.
What will be the thread of continuity?
 Will it be a source/character?
 An event?
 A place?
 An idealogy?
 A lesson?

49. Who are the characters?
 Conflict? Development? Transformation?
Path? Change?

50. Make us love them or hate them, but
make us feel something.
 How you describe makes all the difference.
 What you describe.
 What characters do.
 Give back story.
 DO NOT OVER EXPLAIN.
ASSUME NOTHING.

51. Refrain from the use of “I.”
 Your presence should be implied, not overt.
 Let the characters speak, not you.
 Show the facts. Don’t preach.
 Do not mar the view.
 Remember appropriateness.
 You are a fly on the wall not a gorilla in the middle of
the room.

52. What is the action?
 Nothing is fabricated or embellished.

53. Make a timeline.
 You can start in the beginning, middle or
end. But it has to make sense.
 You can have flashbacks.
 The story has to have an arc. Can not just be
a collection of anecdotes.
 Need resolution, change.

54. Scenes or perish.
 A cinematic, digital society requires
vignettes, scenes.
 Add dialog.
 Add action.
 MAKE THE
STORY MOVE.

55. FIND A LIVE ELEMENT!
 Event
 Follow character at work, hobby, practice
 Go to a site
 Observe, witness
 Show examples

56. Each scene, chapter builds on the
previous.
Bridges to action
Connections to character
No Volkswagens up the
mountain
No dangling declarations

57. How will you build your story?
 What will you use?
 What will you not use?
 Will your story be
functional?
 Will your story be
unique?
 Will your story stand up
over time?

58. Internal dialogue is OK.
 But not too much.
 Let others talk.
 Show. Demonstrate. Exemplify.
 No long strings of rantings and ravings.

59. Organize the structure.
 Brainstorm
 Outline
 Map
 Schedule your writing

60. Learn to love a good outline.

61. Get it out.
 You can’t shape a sculpture until you begin
working with clay.
 You can’t make a cake until you start mixing
the ingredients.
 You can’t remodel a house without the basic
structure.
 You can’t tell your story until you put down
the words.

62. Getting to the writing: Be quiet.
 Have a writing place
 Set aside time
 Be free of criticism
 Respect your own voice
 Writing is an
intellectually and
emotionally athletic
event.

63. Tell yourself no lies.
Tell it in your own voice.
Use your words.
Be authentic.

64. Live the contemplative life.
 “Life is a succession of lessons that must be
lived to be understood.”
 Ralph Waldo Emerson
 “We are all created creative and can invent
new scenarios as frequently as they are
needed.”
 Maya Angelou

65. You need more.
 “Talent isn’t enough. You need motivation
and persistence, too, what Steinbeck called a
blend of faith and arrogance. If you don’t
have it, don’t be a writer.”
 Leon Uris

66. Writing Assignment # 4
 Describe the next page.
 Use metaphors. Risk with the language.

68. You have permission.
 This is not a graded
assignment.
 Tell it how you want to
tell it.

69. Dare to write.
 Once you express yourself, you can tell the
world what you want from it. Then you can
change the world.”
 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

70. Write first. Edit heavily. Market last.

71. Mistakes erode your credibility.
 Proper names
 Correct data
 Correct addresses, abbreviations
 Proper AP Style, Chicago Manual of Style
 If you use real people with real names, GET
PERMISSION.

72. A journal is to journalism what blog is
to memoir.
 People will not pay for your informal musings.
 Show off your craft.
 Anyone can anytime anywhere publish their
reminiscences.
 You want yours to be coveted.

73. Just as in journalism, editors want you
to be clean.
 If your copy doesn’t require an overhaul, the
publisher will like you.
 If your copy is clean, the reader will trust you.
 Your byline is your brand.
 Fix your own copy before you turn it in with a
re-read and a rewrite.

74. Never let your readers say,
“I don’t think so.”
 If you don’t know, ask. Report, research.
 If you aren’t sure, look through your notes or
fact check against original source.Find out
the specifics.
 Clear writing means never having to read the
sentence twice.
 Don’t use punctuation to get you out of a
jam.

75. Consider your writing like a dinner
party. Keep the food and conversation
flowing.

76. Narratives have a beginning, middle
and end.
 As in all nonfiction, this narrative begins with
a bang.
 Organize, outline, structure chapters, pages,
grafs and sentences with transitions and
care.
 Vary sentence structure.
 Consider the story arc.
 NO CUTE ANDY ROONEY ENDINGS!

77. Great journalism– and memoir--
according to
Carl Sessions Stepp:
Storyline: a great idea
Surprise: compelling
material
Style: engaging writing

78. FIND A LIVE ELEMENT in every
chapter.
 Events show, don’t tell
 Follow character at work, hobby, practice
 Go to a site
 Observe, witness
 No sitting around drinking coffee

79. Every good chapter and every memoir
needs a shifting focus. Move the
aperture.
 You want close-up,
medium amd long
shots.

80. No endless rants. They get dull.

81. Everything must have a news hook.
 Link your memoir to cultural trend, event,
anniversary. It can’t float in space.

82. Vary the types of experiences for the
reader.

83. Don’t just stop.
 Is the ending as powerful as the beginning?
 Did you run out of gas?

84. Write because you have to.
 Writing is like fingerprints
 One sentence at a time
 The best stories are rewritten
“Be yourself. The world worships
the original.”
Jean Cocteau

85. It’s been done before.
 “I take pen and
ink and write my
mind.”
– William
Shakespeare

86. But not by you.
 It’s all been said and done. But you have not
said it or done it. So try it.

87. Trouble.
 “The trouble is if you don’t risk anything, you
risk even more. You can’t risk anything as a
writer, not a new kind of lead, not a bold
question in an interview, not a different visual
approach in broadcast or online, if you don’t
have the confidence to try.”
 Erica Jong

88. Criticism is not personal.

89. Write to save your life.
 Preserve your
memories.
 Value the sanctity of
your own story.
 Regain control through
your words.
 Tell stories you need to
tell.
 Write something
wonderful.

90. Rewrite because everyone must.
 SFD by Anne Lamott
 Let the cake cool and frost it
 You are more brilliant at some times than
you are at others OR
 Sometimes you are less brilliant than at other
times

91. Know what your story means.
 Understand its place in literature and the
culture.
 Be able to explain it in one sentence.
 Be able to promote it.
 Stand up to your truth.

92. It’s about the craft, right?
 Always work to get better.
 The fame and fortune is a by-product.
 The joy is in the accomplishment, not the
applause.

93. Writing Assignment # 5:
 Honestly, what do you want to accomplish
with your writing?
 Hint: It must be about more than you.

94. Your story matters.

95. Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace.
The soul that knows it not, knows no release
From little things: Knows not the livid loneliness of fear,
Nor mountain heights when bitter joy can hear
The sounds of wings.”
--Amelia Earhardt

96. Writers write.
 “If I knew I was going to die, I would type
faster.”
 Isaac Asimov

97. Writers need other writers.
 Share with other
writers.
 Look for support, not a
makeover.
 Respect your voice
 Respect other writers
 Collaborate

98. Amy Tan on creativity. (5:59-7:58)
 http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/amy_tan_on_cre

99. Work with an agent.
 Send out 20 queries
 after studying Jeff Herman’s Guide.
 Write the proposal using Michael Larsen’s
Guide.

100. Do everything your agent says.
 They do know best.

101. Then do everything your editor
says.

102. Eating my words on self-published
ebooks.

103. Your writing has been born.

104. Support your baby with social
media.

105. Start this writing today.
 Write before the idea
leaves you
 Write to remember
 Write to move forward
 Write to honor yourself
 Write to validate your
feelings
 Write to understand the
past
 Write because you
must

106. Writing Assignment # 6:
 What is the first thing you will do toward
making your memoir a reality?

107. Follow me. I will follow you.
 www.micheleweldon.com
 m-weldon@northwestern.edu
micheleweldon@msn.com
http://twitter.com/micheleweldon
linkedin,facebook