Writing Briefly and Beautifully

In 2003, I turned in the first draft of my book, Waiting Wives: The Story of Schilling Manor, Homefront to the Vietnam War, to my editor. It was over 600 pages. She sent it back and said, “Cut it in half.” She gave me a few suggestions, but ultimately, I was the one that had to cut and continually ask the question - is this moving the story forward, or do I just like what I wrote? Finally, in 2005, my 320 page book was published.

Okay, terrifying story, but what does it have to do with Metallica, The Brevity Blog, and Vivian Gornick’s masterful guidebook on writing, The Situation and The Story? Simple - Brevity is a nonfiction blog where writers submit their writing. Brendan O’Meara wrote a piece for the blog called “What Metallica’s “Black Album” Teaches Us About Writing Briefly.” Finally, the blog reminded me of what I had learned from Gornick’s book many years ago when I had to cut my story in half.

In her book, she writes, “Every work of literature has both a situation and a story. The situation is the context or circumstance, sometimes the plot; the story is the emotional experience that preoccupies the writer: the insight, the wisdom, the thing one has come to say.”

In O’Meara’s piece, he writes, “For the memoir or personal essay writer, it’s not enough to have had this weird/quirky/traumatic experience. It has to serve the reader in some way. This way, the reader can overlay her own experience on yours. You dissolve away, you become a vessel for the reader’s experience. You, in effect, become invisible, but all present.”

I am working on book #2, and I needed these reminders. Perfect words written in beautifully structured sentences that flow effortlessly into purposeful paragraphs will make my story move forward so that the “insight, the wisdom” enters the reader’s mind, leaving an indelible mark on their hearts.

Read Gornick. Read O’Meara. Read The Brevity Blog. And, definitely listen to Metallica

#waitingwives #atriabooks #thesituationandthestory #brevityblog #brendanomeara #metallica #writingpersonalessays #memoirs #mylastmonthsinafrica #lifelonglearner

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Waiting-Wives/Donna-Moreau/9780743470773

Comments

The Tragedy of Human Despair

The Tragedy of Human Despair in South Africa I came across this scene while running errands. The person, a man, I think, sat on the dirty, tar road at a robot, straddling the center and right turn lanes on a busy street. The light had turned red, so I was forced to face the human tragedy of poverty, hunger, and hopelessness. It’s not like I hadn’t seen people on the streets begging for food, clothes, jobs, or anything to sustain them for another day, but this was different. He rested in a fetal position, head bowed and covered by a white t-shirt juxtaposed against black clothing. And what about the books? I couldn’t see their titles; maybe one was a bible. He was as still as a statue and as quiet as the dark before the dawn. He did not flinch or moan, nor did he have pleading hands reaching out for a tidbit of salvation. The human was simply there, a tableau worthy of a production by the Ontological-Hysterical theatre company in New York City’s lower...

A Baboon Family

A Baboon Family This baboon family makes me happy. The setting is peaceful, all four calmly sitting on a rock, at rest. Except for the baby looking directly at our game vehicle with curiosity, the other three's eyes gazing elsewhere. Despite their sharp as daggers canine teeth, nut-crushing jaws, naughty opportunistic foraging of camper's food, and a hierarchy of dominating male bullies, baboons can be quiet and peaceful, going about their daily business in a well-defined social order. These old-world monkeys thrive in friend and family units; females form strong bonds to raise and protect the kids, forage for food, and stay loyal to the troop for their entire lives. Like human families, they comfort each other, play, and squabble but ultimately come together for the good of the community and protection from predators - for the most part. Yes, there's a bit of infanticide by the males, beating females for the heck of it, violently tossing little ones to the side when ...

Giraffes

A couple of things are going on in this photo. First, the ubiquitous bush butt shot. The rear-angle view of animals is so common that a friend of mine has a series of animal bottoms framed and hung on her bathroom wall. I have about a million bottom shots languishing on a flash drive, I hate to get rid of them, but I’m not sure what I should do with the backside collection. Secondly, have a look at this trio of male giraffes. Elder, younger, and the one in the middle. In this photo, the animals seem like pals. The three were playing rather than foraging on the treetops for food, so the sighting was special. Playing around to male giraffes looks like a neck-swinging dance and is weirdly elegant. The behavior is called “necking,” and it can cause damage if the play turns aggressive. It’s a dominance thing, a way to sort out who’s the boss of the females in the tower (or journey if they are moving). As it turns out, male giraffes, like human males, have testo...

Donna Moreau - Writer On The Road

Search This Blog