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Composite Characters: A Memoir Controversy

Composite Characters: The Latest Memoir Controversy

A controversy about writing memoirs? Last week, just such an issue emerged when an upcoming book about President Barack Obama that was excerpted in Vanity Fair. Author David Maraniss reveals in the book that President Obama’s memoir, Dreams of My Father, presented a girlfriend who was really a composite of more than one woman. The memoir includes a disclaimer indicating that “compression” was used as a writing technique. In an interview years later, Mr. Obama explained his decision to use the technique by saying, “I was very sensitive in my book not to write about my girlfriends, partly out of respect for them.”

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Maraniss dismisses the need to be 100 percent factual in a memoir. He says, “The theme of [Obama’s] memoir is race, and so both the chronology and the characters in his writing were used to advance that theme.”

Is this valid? As you write your memoirs, you’re trying to create a narrative that is compelling and easy to read. So is it okay to describe an event in a dramatic way that makes your point better than any event that actually happened? I can’t quite accept that in a memoir, and a disclaimer isn’t enough, either. At the point of relating the anecdote, you owe it to the reader to explain that you’re talking about what might have happened, or you’re describing a situation that combined elements from various times in your life; you’re not faithfully sharing one true event. Our memories play tricks on us, but a memoir should relate the facts as we best remember them.

A controversy about writing memoirs? Last week, just such an issue emerged when an upcoming book about President Barack Obama was excerpted in Vanity Fair. Author David Maraniss reveals in the book that President Obama’s memoir, Dreams of My Father, presented a girlfriend who was really a composite of more than one woman. The memoir includes a disclaimer indicating that “compression” was used as a writing technique. In an interview years later, Mr. Obama explained his decision to use the technique: “I was very sensitive in my book not to write about my girlfriends, partly out of respect for them.”

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Maraniss dismisses the need to be 100 percent factual in a memoir. He says, “The theme of [Obama’s] memoir is race, and so both the chronology and the characters in his writing were used to advance that theme.”

Is this valid? As you write your memoirs, you’re trying to create a narrative that is compelling and easy to read. So is it okay to describe an event in a dramatic way that makes your point better than any event that actually happened? I can’t quite accept that in a memoir, and a disclaimer isn’t enough, either. At the point of relating the anecdote, you owe it to the reader to explain that you’re talking about what might have happened, or you’re describing a situation that combines elements from various times in your life; you’re not faithfully sharing one true event. Our memories play tricks on us, but a memoir should relate the facts as we best remember them.

May 15th, 2012 by admin

Tags: memoir writing

Posted in Celebrity memoirs, Ideas for memoirs content, Memoir writing process, Pertinent internet site

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Working With a Ghostwriter on Your Memoir? Don’t Lose Your Voice

I watched a battered Ryan O’Neal squirm through an uncomfortable interview on the Today Show this morning. I felt bad for the guy. He was promoting his new memoir, Both of Us: My Life With Farrah, which details his rocky relationship with the late Farrah Fawcett. Matt Lauer did what any interviewer would do: he asked the autobiographer about particularly disturbing or explosive passages in the memoir. O’Neal was exceedingly candid, at times he seemed almost unfamiliar with his own words from the book.

Lauer read one passage that ended, “…because our lives felt so pointless.” Ryan acted surprised. “Did I say ‘pointless’?” he asked Matt, who confirmed it, and then Ryan sidestepped that description and spoke about the rest of the passage. Quoting another passage, Matt asked Ryan about his account of Farrah spending long periods staring into the mirror, upset by the aging process. Again, Ryan cushioned the quote and addressed ancillary topics.

Ryan is listed as the first of three authors of the book. There’s no shame in having a ghostwriter or two; many celebrities and ordinary people may be great at what they do professionally but are simply not writers. When you hire a ghostwriter, you’re still the main author. Make sure you’re comfortable with your writing partner, you communicate freely with the writer and you approve of every word in the book. No matter who does the crafting, this is your story, your voice.

I watched a battered Ryan O’Neal squirm through an uncomfortable interview on the Today Show this morning. I felt bad for the guy. He was promoting his new memoir, Both of Us: My Life With Farrah, which details his rocky relationship with the late Farrah Fawcett. Matt Lauer did what any interviewer would do: he asked the autobiographer about particularly disturbing or explosive passages in the memoir. O’Neal was exceedingly candid but at times seemed almost unfamiliar with his own words from the book.

Ryan is listed as the first of three authors of the book. There’s no shame in having a ghostwriter or two; many celebrities and ordinary people may be great at what they do professionally but are simply not writers. When you hire a ghostwriter for your memoir, you’re still the main author. Make sure you’re comfortable with your writing partner, you communicate freely with the writer and you approve of every word in the book. No matter who does the crafting, this is your story, your voice.

May 1st, 2012 by admin

Tags: memoir writing

Posted in Celebrity memoirs, Memoir writing process, Pertinent internet site

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What You and Carole King Have in Common

On NBC’s Today Show this morning, Ann Curry interviewed iconic singer/songwriter Carole King, now 70, about her new memoir, A Natural Woman. As she spoke about her reasons for writing a memoir and the memoir writing process in general, she reminded me of you! Judging by the email we receive from WriteMyMemoirs members, a lot of what Carole expressed is universally felt among people who decide to put their life stories into words. See whether you relate:

Ann: “People say that writing a memoir is incredibly illuminating. What did you learn about yourself?”

Carole: “Oh my gosh, I learned so much….Why did I actually do the things I did, and why did I choose the men I chose?”

In the book, Carole describes some physical abuse at the hands of a lesser-known of her four husbands.

Carole: “The writing of this story—I wasn’t sure I was going to include it in the book—but I wanted people to understand, people who go through [domestic abuse]—mostly women but some men—that you’re not alone. This is a phenomenon that can even happen to somebody like me, who was successful, who had financial independence.” The book includes information about where to go for help.

Carole on why it took 12 years, until age 70, to finish the book: “I finally felt the calmness….People have said, ‘You should write about your life,’ for a lot of my life because I have such an interesting life. But it was only until just before I was 60 that I just said, ‘Okay, I’m ready to embrace this stage of my life.”

Ann, noting that Carole has more than 400 compositions recorded by 1000+ artists to her credit, plus five grandchildren: “How do you want to be remembered…now that you’ve looked back on [your life]?

Carole: “My goal every day is to try to be a good person, to try to do kind things, to try to make the world a better place in the ways that I can. And if I have influenced one person in a good way, that’s good enough.”

Click here to view video of the entire interview.

On NBC’s Today Show this morning, Ann Curry interviewed iconic singer/songwriter Carole King, now 70, about her new memoir, A Natural Woman. As she spoke about her reasons for writing a memoir and the memoir writing process in general, she reminded me of you! Judging by the email we receive from WriteMyMemoirs members, a lot of what Carole expressed is universally felt among people who decide to put their life stories into words. See whether you relate:

Ann: “People say that writing a memoir is incredibly illuminating. What did you learn about yourself?”
Carole: “Oh my gosh, I learned so much….Why did I actually do the things I did, and why did I choose the men I chose?”

In the book, Carole describes some physical abuse at the hands of a lesser-known of her four husbands.
Carole: “The writing of this story—I wasn’t sure I was going to include it in the book—but I wanted people to understand, people who go through [domestic abuse]—mostly women but some men—that you’re not alone. This is a phenomenon that can even happen to somebody like me, who was successful, who had financial independence.” The book includes information about where to go for help.

Carole on why it took 12 years, until age 70, to finish the book: “I finally felt the calmness….People have said, ‘You should write about your life,’ for a lot of my life because I have such an interesting life. But it was only until just before I was 60 that I just said, ‘Okay, I’m ready to embrace this stage of my life.”

Ann, noting that Carole has more than 400 compositions recorded by 1000+ artists to her credit, plus five grandchildren: “How do you want to be remembered…now that you’ve looked back on [your life]?”
Carole: “My goal every day is to try to be a good person, to try to do kind things, to try to make the world a better place in the ways that I can. And if I have influenced one person in a good way, that’s good enough.”

Click here to view video of the entire interview.

April 10th, 2012 by admin

Tags: Celebrity memoirs

Posted in Celebrity memoirs, Ideas for memoirs content, Memoir writing process

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Political Autobiographies Play a Role in Elections

I happen to be in Florida today, the day of the state’s primary. As you might expect, the local airwaves have been flooded with political ads. They contain a lot of “he said, he said” statements. It makes me wonder why these candidates never penned a memoir to document their own lives and more definitively present their views.

Think back to the last presidential election. In the democratic primary, Hillary Clinton had her husband’s reputation, her four-year record as First Lady and her term as a New York senator. Barack Obama, still only in his 40s, already had two autobiographical books: Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope. The titles became common phrases, and suddenly these books were selling “like hotcakes.” The words were inspirational and trumped any Obama narrative the Clinton opposition and, later in the general election the John McCain campaign, could contrive.

Yet, among the 27 books Newt Gingrich has authored, not one is a memoir. Mitt Romney, with his diverse experience as a businessman, governor and Olympics chief, hasn’t sat down to write his life story. Here in Florida, Romney’s ads do mention an autobiography—Ronald Reagan’s—to use as evidence to counter some of Gingrich’s claims about being the heir to the Reagan legacy. So Mitt realizes the value of a written memoir, yet hasn’t crafted his own. And you know whom he’ll face if he makes it to the next election? The same President Barack Obama who won last time with the power of two very influential autobiographies.

January 31st, 2012 by admin

Tags: autobiography, memoirs

Posted in Celebrity memoirs, Writing motivation

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More Celebrity Memoir Beginnings

Let’s examine a few more celebrity memoirs for inspiration in constructing a first sentence or two. Michael J. Fox begins his 2002 memoir: “I woke up to find the message in my left hand. It had me trembling. It wasn’t a fax, telegram, memo or the usual sort of missive bringing disturbing news. In fact, my hand held nothing. The trembling was the message.” Readers know that Fox will receive a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease, but the beginning still is poignant compelling.

Each chapter of the 2011 memoir of Dancing With the Stars professional dancer Cheryl Burke is named for a type of dance, which Cheryl uses as a metaphor for something in her personality or experience. She begins Chapter 1: “The freestyle dance is not restricted by any conventional steps or choreography. It is simply a dance in which the dancer can showcase whatever movement or emotion seems appropriate.” So you don’t have to begin with something personal. This is a little different way to begin a memoir.

Actor Alan Arkin chose a more traditional, straightforward two sentences to start his 2011 memoir: “My father said that at the age of five I asked him if he could keep a secret. He said yes he could, so I told him I was going to be an actor when I grew up.”

These authors zeroed in on an essence—ultimately the theme of the book. If you can identify what that is for you, your first sentence will write itself.

Each chapter of the 2011 memoir of Dancing With the Stars professional dancer Cheryl Burke is named for a type of dance, which Cheryl uses as a metaphor for something in her personality or experience. She begins Chapter 1: “The freestyle dance is not restricted by any conventional steps or choreography. It is simply a dance in which the dancer can showcase whatever movement or emotion seems appropriate.” So you don’t have to begin with something personal. This is a little different way to begin a memoir.

These authors zeroed in on an essence—ultimately the theme of the book. If you can identify what that is for you, the first sentence of your memoir will write itself.

December 13th, 2011 by admin

Tags: autobiography, Celebrity memoirs

Posted in Celebrity memoirs, Ideas for memoirs content

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Celebrity Autobiographies’ First Sentences

The opening sentence of a memoir is such a brain-freeze that many people give up the goal of writing an autobiography simply because they cannot come up with a satisfactory first line. Even country crooner Willie Nelson resorts to launching into his life story, The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes, with the cop-out, “They say writing the first line of a book is the hardest part.”

Fortunately, other celebrities make up for Willie’s appalling lack of originality. Consider this Chapter 1 first sentence: “My father was a very wise man who hated dishonesty more than he hated stupidity.”—from Don’t Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It’s Raining, by television’s Judge Judy Sheindlin (written with a co-author).

Judy’s opening is followed by an anecdote from her youth that not only gives an example of how her dad chastised Judy when she tried to spin a bit of a tall tale, but also reveals her father’s influence on her own moral development as well as explaining the origin of her autobiography’s title. From there, Judy jumps to her first day as a judge, because her career is the focus of this memoir. The transition is deftly achieved, but there’s still a formula to it that you can borrow: begin with a statement that gets the reader curious, offer a pertinent anecdote and then make the connection to what you really want to talk about. More celebrity first-liners this next time.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060927941/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

The opening sentence of a memoir is such a brain-freeze that many people give up the goal of writing an autobiography simply because they cannot come up with a satisfactory first line. Even country crooner Willie Nelson resorts to launching into his life story, The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes, with the cop-out, “They say writing the first line of a book is the hardest part.”

Fortunately, other celebrities make up for Willie’s appalling lack of originality. Consider this Chapter 1 first sentence: “My father was a very wise man who hated dishonesty more than he hated stupidity.”—from Don’t Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It’s Raining, by television’s Judge Judy Sheindlin (written with a co-author).

December 6th, 2011 by admin

Tags: autobiography, Celebrity memoirs

Posted in Celebrity memoirs, Ideas for memoirs content, Memoir writing process

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Beware the “Tell-All” Fallout

If you’re planning on writing a memoir that dishes dirty family secrets, you might want to think it through. Be prepared for your family to be angry at you, because seeing their actions through your critical eyes does not tend to create harmony.

Moms haven’t had a good year in memoirland. There was Ashley Judd’s exposé of her famous country mama Naomi, which had both Naomi and Ashley’s half-sister Wynonna hopping mad. Next we heard about Katy Perry’s mother, who was not the subject of a memoir but, rather, the one who wrote her own memoir. In it, she lamented that Katy’s fashion taste and music were too risqué for her taste, an opinion that created what Katy’s father referred to as “tension” in the family.

The latest tell-all, set to hit stores on October 18, is Whateverland: Learning to Live Here, by Martha Stewart’s daughter Alexis Stewart. Reportedly, the book gives ample evidence supporting Alexis’s conclusion that her mom “was not interested in being kid-friendly.” But Alexis has hedged her bets by dedicating her memoir to none other than Martha dearest and proactively using the dedication to more or less ask forgiveness. The dedication reportedly says: “Thanks in advance to my mother for not getting angry about anything written in this book.” If your memoir trashes a family member, you might want to try that approach. Let us know if it works.

If you’re planning on writing a memoir that dishes dirty family secrets, you might want to think it through. Be prepared for your family to be angry at you, because seeing their actions through your critical eyes does not tend to foster harmony.

Moms haven’t had a good year in memoirland. There was Ashley Judd’s exposé of her famous country mama Naomi, which had both Naomi and Ashley’s half-sister Wynonna hopping mad. Next we heard about Katy Perry’s mother, who was not the subject of a memoir but, rather, the one who wrote her own memoir. In it, she lamented that Katy’s fashion taste and music were exceedingly risqué, an opinion that created what Katy’s father referred to as “tension” in the family.

The latest tell-all, set to hit stores on October 18, is Whateverland: Learning to Live Here, by Martha Stewart’s daughter Alexis Stewart. Reportedly, the book gives ample evidence supporting Alexis’s conclusion that her mom “was not interested in being kid-friendly.” But Alexis has hedged her bets by dedicating her memoir to none other than Martha dearest and proactively using the dedication to more or less ask forgiveness. The dedication reportedly says: “Thanks in advance to my mother for not getting angry about anything written in this book.” If your memoir trashes a family member, you might want to try that approach. Let us know if it works.

October 4th, 2011 by admin

Tags: Celebrity memoirs, memoir writing

Posted in Celebrity memoirs, Memoir writing process

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How Dick Cheney’s Memoirs Are Like Yours

I’ve been reading advance reviews of Dick Cheney’s memoirs, due for release today, and in some ways your memoirs are probably no different from those of the former U.S. vice president. Sure, you’re unlikely to be interviewed on TV to talk about your book, but let’s examine the similarities.

The early reviewers report that Cheney devotes a lot more pages to justifying his actions than to apologizing for them. And who wouldn’t? I doubt that you are writing your memoirs as a way to express a bunch of mea culpas. Typically, memoir authors take this opportunity to explain actions or provide previously unpublicized details and background, but in a way that encourages the reader to agree with the wisdom of those actions or decisions. This may involve criticizing others who disagreed with you at the time, but throwing someone under the bus is a small price to pay for getting your side of the story out there or patting yourself on the back a little.

If you’re writing a compelling book, Cheney’s memoir is like your memoirs in another way, too: it follows a series of episodes. Conflict, challenges, forks in the road that could lead in different directions—all of that keeps the reader interested. You’d be wise to consider that as you write. You don’t have to “make heads explode,??? as Cheney predicts his book will do, but a few sparks couldn’t hurt.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/178083-cheney-pushes-new-memoir

I’ve been reading advance reviews of Dick Cheney’s memoirs, due for release today, and in some ways your memoirs are probably no different from those of the former U.S. vice president. Sure, you’re unlikely to be interviewed on TV to talk about your book, but let’s examine the similarities.

The early reviewers report that Cheney devotes a lot more pages to justifying his actions than to apologizing for them. And who wouldn’t? I doubt that you are writing your memoirs as a way to express a bunch of mea culpas. Typically, memoir authors take this opportunity to explain actions or provide previously unpublicized details and background, but in a way that encourages the reader to agree with the wisdom of those actions or decisions. This may involve criticizing others who disagreed with you at the time, but throwing someone under the bus is a small price to pay for getting your side of the story out there or patting yourself on the back a little.

If you’re writing a compelling book, Cheney’s memoir is like your memoirs in another way, too: it follows a series of episodes. Conflict, challenges, forks in the road that could lead in different directions—all of that keeps the reader interested. You’d be wise to consider that as you write. You don’t have to “make heads explode,??? as Cheney predicts his book will do, but a few sparks couldn’t hurt.

August 30th, 2011 by admin

Tags: memoir writing, memoirs

Posted in Celebrity memoirs, Memoir writing process

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Rupert Murdoch: Never a Memoir?

In light of the current scandal surrounding publishing mogul Rupert Murdoch, I thought I’d take a look at his memoir. After all, an 80-year-old man whose professional life revolves around the written word must have penned at least one autobiography, right? Apparently not.

There are plenty of Murdoch biographies, the most recent a 2008 unflattering portrayal, The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the World of Rupert Murdoch, by Michael Wolff. Reportedly, Murdoch cooperated with this biography, but the author turned against him. This drives home the point we make here at Write My Memoirs over and over: own your life story. Even if you’re not the subject of an entire biography and the only press you get is people’s comments about you on Facebook, why would you risk letting other people define you? Write your own story so at least it’s out there as your perception of the truth.

I’m baffled by the lack of a Murdoch memoir. Three years ago in reviewing The Man Who Owns the News, slate.com noted that biographer Wolff found Murdoch “unburdened by [the] human need to be liked??? as well as “bad at explaining himself in interviews and generally devoid of self-awareness.??? So maybe that combination adds up to zero motivation to write about yourself. These days Murdoch may find that he’s asked to explain himself quite a bit, and the dark side of his memoir will more or less write itself.

In light of the current scandal surrounding publishing mogul Rupert Murdoch, I thought I’d take a look at his memoir. After all, an 80-year-old man whose professional life revolves around the written word must have penned at least one autobiography, right? Apparently not.

There are plenty of Murdoch biographies, the most recent a 2008 unflattering portrayal, The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the World of Rupert Murdoch, by Michael Wolff. Reportedly, Murdoch cooperated with this biography, but the author turned against him. This drives home the point we make here at Write My Memoirs over and over: own your life story. Even if you’re not the subject of an entire biography and the only press you get is people’s comments about you on Facebook, why would you risk letting other people define you? Write your own story so at least it’s out there as your perception of the truth.

I’m baffled by the lack of a Murdoch memoir. Three years ago in reviewing The Man Who Owns the News, slate.com noted that biographer Wolff found Murdoch “unburdened by [the] human need to be liked??? as well as “bad at explaining himself in interviews and generally devoid of self-awareness.??? So maybe that combination adds up to zero motivation to write about yourself. These days Murdoch may find that he’s asked to explain himself quite a bit, and the dark side of his memoir will more or less write itself.

July 19th, 2011 by admin

Tags: autobiography, memoir

Posted in Celebrity memoirs

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Prison Experience Inspires Memoirs

When former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced from prison his intention to write a memoir, MLive.com blogger Jeff Wattrick responded with a list of his top five jailhouse autobiographies. Now that my own former Governor, Rod Blagojevich, has been convicted and likely faces incarceration, I thought I’d review Jeff’s list in case Rod wants to start writing.

In the Belly of the Beast, by Jack Abbott, who had help from Norman Mailer in publishing his book. Six months after being released from prison, Abbott killed a man and was sent back to jail, where he committed suicide.
Soul on Ice, by Eldridge Cleaver, the Black Panther leader who authored this late 1960s fresh look at race relations that became a classic.
Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes. More autobiographical novel than memoir, the book and subsequent Broadway musical provided insight into the minds of those who tilt at windmills.
The Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. This one’s autobiographical history, giving readers an education about Russia, freedom and suffering.
Son of Hope, by David Berkowitz, also known as Son of Sam. His memoir prompted New York and other states to pass “Son of Sam??? laws to keep criminals from earning profits from their memoirs.

Next week I’ll discuss what motivates prisoners to write memoirs behind bars.

June 29th, 2011 by admin

Tags: autobiography, memoirs

Posted in Celebrity memoirs, Ideas for memoirs content

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