Does this seem like an oxymoron? Well, think about it—there are many instances when you must rely on your fiction-writing skills in nonfiction. What about the memoir? I’m working with a client now whose book manuscript features depictions of actual people as examples throughout. She is a give-me-the-facts type of more academic writer and I’m helping her to bring her real “characters” to life.
We use anecdotes even in our how-to, self-help and informational books. And it’s often necessary, or at least recommended, that these anecdotes be fleshed out much the same as one would do for characters in a novel. And what about story books? The Chicken Soup stories are nonfiction. The stories in my new book, Catscapades, True Cat Tales are true. Yet, no one will be interested in reading stories that are written in stiff, academic style.
Readers respond to writing that evokes emotion, whether it tugs at their heart strings, scares the wits out of them or makes them mad as hell. A good fiction writer can put the reader in the story with the characters and make him/her care. Nonfiction writers who include true-to-life anecdotes or who are trying to tell a true story, need to borrow some of these techniques.
It takes practice, if you’re a staunch nonfiction writer, to get to the point where you can flesh out your profile pieces, to make your anecdotes sing, to create stories that touch one at a deep level. But, if you are writing a memoir, a biography, a how-to book featuring several case studies or a book of stories, this is a process you really must learn.
Instead of just listing the occurrences the way things happened, practice using imagery to make the story come alive. Rather than simply telling the story, use words and anecdotes that put more emotion into your story. Instead of using mundane terms that might work for a piece of nonfiction, use more descriptive words—create word pictures.
If your brain doesn’t automatically work that way, it can take practice. So practice. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
• Get poetic. Force yourself, if you have to, into using a poetic tone to describe something ordinary—an object or an activity, for example. You probably won’t write using the words and phrases you come up with in this exercise, but it will get you off dead center and loosen up your, perhaps, stiff, stifled way of communicating.
• Visualize the scene you are working on. Try to see it in great detail. Write what you see.
• Practice giving your characters personality. Rather than having Bob grow up, graduate and get a job, have him grow up playing in the cornfields of Iowa, graduating despite heavy burdens at home and landing his first job as a car hop on roller skates.
• Don’t be afraid to make readers cry, experience fear or laugh. That’s what we read for—to feel.
• Read, read and read some more. Study the techniques used by some of the great fiction writers.
The leap from nonfiction writing to fiction can be mighty for some staunch “give me the facts, Ma’am” kind of writers. But you are a writer, after all. You worked to develop the skills you have. If you want to write your memoir or a book of stories or do more profile pieces, and if what you’re writing falls a little flat, use these ideas and practice, practice, practice. You’ll soon see your storytelling skills become sharper and sharper.
If you need help with your manuscript, contact me here: PLFry620@yahoo.com
Catscapades Update
Our shipment of Catscapades, True Cat Tales arrived last week. We’re already receiving comments from happy readers. One animal person said, “This is a book that can be read again and again. It’s not just information, it’s a feeling.”
Another reader says, “Well, I’ve read Catscapades from cover to cover & loved it! This will be a treasured book that I will re-read many times. I’m grateful for your gift to write & your ability to get these stories in print for all of us to enjoy. But beyond actually enjoying the stories, I found the stories brought to mind my own life cat encounters. It is a great little book!”
Order your copy from Amazon.com or at my website: http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.html
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http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades