How to breakup the story section wise?
- Thread starter metamemoir
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Just get your first draft on paper (computer screen). Write and keep writing without editing or rewriting. That way your creative juices will flow without being stopped by details that can be later addressed in rewrites. You're over-thinking all the details and that won't necessarily make for a better first draft, probably the opposite. You can figure out chapters, sections, characters etc in subsequent drafts.
200,000 k words-- yikes. You've going to have to cut that in half and then cut some out. Mine was originally 96k and I was told to cut 10-20k because of what publishers are looking for.
If I were you, I cut before you worry about sections. If you can get someone to read through and tell you where to cut, that might be of some help, because I know how hard chopping can be. Sometimes as memoirists, we're too close to the story.
If I were you, I cut before you worry about sections. If you can get someone to read through and tell you where to cut, that might be of some help, because I know how hard chopping can be. Sometimes as memoirists, we're too close to the story.
It's hard to really say without knowing what the subject of your book is. What is your memoir about? Some make sense to go chronologically while others make more sense jumping around or being organized by event.
Mine is primarily chronological and it includes some historical context/facts along the way. It's telling the story of a person as much as it is a certain aspect of the city, so it makes sense for it to go in chronological order.
Also, I agree with PinkAmy that 200k is way way too long. It might be helpful for you to determine what the main/most important thread or theme of your book is and edit and cut accordingly. If it doesn't directly support the main theme, lose it.
I guess it feels like the first half of my book will be like a scrapbook of memories, and the second half will be like a season of the TV show "24" with like a very developed more "play by play" approach. Just describing it right now, it actually sounds like it could be enjoyable for the reader having that mixture. But I guess I have a permanent instinct that I must be doing this wrong.
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I guess here's my real question: why are people going to want to read your book? What is going to make them say "Hey, I want to read that"? What do you hope that your readers will take away from your book - after they've finished and put it down, what are the things they will think about?
That's what I mean - what is the overarching theme, the common thread?
No offense, but you'll have to cut out enough to get your memoir under the 120k mark. 200k is way too much to ask a beta reader or an agent to read, especially when you're new. I understand it's a guesstimate and the word count may change, but really work on tightening.
If a scene doesn't really add to the plot/theme, get rid of it. Don't over explain and treat it like a work of fiction. I love reading memoirs. However, the ones I've read have always kept on track, had good pacing and didn't overdo it.
To cut down the word count, try and following.
Use conjunctions (that is = that's) etc.
Remove all forms of passive voice
Remove -ly words (lovely, gently, quietly)
Use a combination of short punchy sentences and longer ones for description.
Use he said and she said. Once the scene opens up, you don't need many dialogue tags at all.
As far as sections are concerned, it really does depend on what the memoir's about. I wrote mine in chronological order and usually broke up my chapters based off of location/time of day.
If a scene doesn't really add to the plot/theme, get rid of it. Don't over explain and treat it like a work of fiction. I love reading memoirs. However, the ones I've read have always kept on track, had good pacing and didn't overdo it.
To cut down the word count, try and following.
Use conjunctions (that is = that's) etc.
Remove all forms of passive voice
Remove -ly words (lovely, gently, quietly)
Use a combination of short punchy sentences and longer ones for description.
Use he said and she said. Once the scene opens up, you don't need many dialogue tags at all.
As far as sections are concerned, it really does depend on what the memoir's about. I wrote mine in chronological order and usually broke up my chapters based off of location/time of day.
It is probably hard to comment to comment without reading an outline of the plot, but it sounds more like an autobiogrpahy rather than a memoir and there may be enough content there for several books as opposed to trying to cram it into one. Maybe you could focus on just one aspect in the first memoir eg the childhood abuse and look at others such as the medical issues in later memoirs? Just a thought as most memoirs I've read have some coherent theme or plot and aren't disparate..