Your Life as Story:
Writing Narrative Non Fiction

Lisa Dale Norton

". . . you must stop worrying about offending other people with your memoir writing."
—NORTON

Last month I spoke here about the need for selfishness in a memoirist, the need to keep your own counsel, to believe that what you have to say is important, and to stop showing your work to random readers before it is time.

I want to build on that notion of selfishness in the narrative nonfiction writer by adding that you must stop worrying about offending other people with your memoir writing. Okay, so maybe you can’t stop worrying, but you can decide to push through the concern and learn to use the craft of writing like a pro. In so doing you will learn ways to stay true to the course of your truth, AND to treat the characters in your stories with the dignity and compassion they deserve.

The act of cutting corners to avoid stepping on other peoples’ toes is a fast way to throttle authentic writing and original voice: If you spend the bulk of your creative energy worrying about your brother and mother and father and cousins, aunts, uncles, step-relations, and the floppy dog down the street you will never say anything that is juicy and private and bold and sassy and true-true-true for you.

I know, I know, you don’t want to hurt anyone, but you have to be willing to write some writhing first drafts, punching out the facts and emotions as you remember them, to see what might be in there worth gleaning—and it’s pretty hard to do that if you are worrying about everyone else and not yourself.

So, learning to be selfish—believing in the worth of yourself—is your first assignment.