Publishers Weekly – July 29, 2019

® WRITING ADVICE

A veteran editor

answers your writing

questions

BY BETTY KELLY SARGENT

Dear Editor:

I

want to write a memoir but

don’t have much writing

experience. Should I even try

this? —Fergus D.

O

f course you should try it. It

is your life and your story,

and you are entitled to share it

with the whole world. That’s

what writers do. You’ll probably

find that stirring up all those

old memories is challenging as

well as rewarding, and I bet there

are lots of people who’d like to

know more about you, the life

you’ve lived, and what different

places were like when you lived

in them.

First of all, I’d suggest you get

a copy of Writing About Your

Life by William Zinsser. Read it

carefully and underline all the

suggestions you feel are appro-

priate for your story. Then start

writing.

The goal, it seems to me, is for

you to tell your truth. “Think

small,” as Zinsser says. “Don’t

rummage around in your past for

‘important’ events.... Write about

small, self-contained incidents

that are still vivid in your memory.

If you remember them it is because

they contain a larger truth that

your readers will recognize in

their own lives.”

And try to squash all that self-

doubt. Readers want to see what

you saw, feel what you felt, learn

what you learned. If you can

approach your memoir with cour-

age, confidence, curiosity and

discipline, you are bound to find

the readers you want—guaranteed.

Betty Kelly Sargent is the

founder and CEO of BookWorks.

If you have a question for the

editor, please email Betty Sargent

at [email protected].



 








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