Books on Memoir Craft: "God, the Devil, and Divorce" Memoir Writing

 I belong to a wonderful writing organization that meets twice a month to hear speakers on a variety of writing subjects. When one of our speakers talked about plotting, a member spoke up and said he didn't understand why writers didn't just write like he did. Just let the plot unfold. This was a gentleman who had published several successful novels. Some us us tried to explain to him the benefits, but he didn't get it. In fact, I don't think he'd ever studied writing in general, being naturally gifted.

Most of us writers, though, have room to grow and feel a need to continue to learn about the art and craft of writing. This is especially true if we're writing in a genre that's new to us. Being a "Renaissance woman," I write in several different genres, but I've found that writing a divorce and recovery memoir is perhaps the most difficult of all. I may never feel I've studied it enough, but I've made a good start. Here are the books recommended by my memoir mentor I'm currently chewing on: 

 The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr, The Plot Whisperer by Martha Alderson, The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler, Super Structure by James Scott Bell, Wired for Story by Lisa Cron. and The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt. I’ve studied them diligently, highlighting passages and tagging pages. I learned from Bell that I’m a pantster and I need to be more of a plotter. Inspired by The Plot Whisperer, I’ve created a timeline of sticky notes on the wall of my office, making sure I have a “Care Package” in the first scene and that I “Pet the Dog” in a later one as Bell suggests. All have proved of value to me.

I may take the time to say more about these books in future posts. 

Yours for better writing,

Linda M. Kurth