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Book bloggers are tearing their hair out about Love and Consequences, a memoir about growing up in street gangs that was COMPLETELY FABRICATED by Margaret B. Jones. The Amazon page for the recently debunked book alone contains enough crazy quotes to write a whole doctoral dissertation about the dysfunctional state of the American memoir.
Forget about people like that. My guest writers don't cheat.
Last week we had a visit from Janice Erlbaum, exploring the story behind her new memoir, Have You Found Her. During her week-long visit, Erlbaum delivered a graduate-level course about how she turned her real-life journals into an troubled, tough story.
Just follow these links to wipe the chalky taste of fake memoirs out of your brain...
Erlbaum showed us How To Negotiate A Book Deal.
Then she explained How To Become A Memoir Detective.
After that, we discussed "One of the dirty little secrets of writing professionally."
Then, we focused on The Fine Art of Journal Writing.
Finally, she explained How To Build A *Real* Memoir Scene
I've had a couple of odd conversations this weekend. Today I saw a doctor friend and told him about my nose and the possible repercussions. He told me they refer to the eyes and nose as the "triangle of death" because infections there can quickly become serious.
On Saturday, I ran into my old writing teacher in the library. I used to think this guy walked on water. He was smart, he was mysterious, he was a great teacher, he was thin to the point of emaciation. At the time, I wondered if he had AIDS. I was working at a hospital, it was the late 80s, and it seemed like everyone DID have AIDS. (Full disclosure: the reality was that he smokes a lot.)
I remember being so excited to go to class. The feeling of anticipation. I've seldom felt so alive.
I took two classes from him. In the first I was horrified to discover a woman from a critique group I had applied to join. They had turned me down, saying collectively that my writing wasn't good enough. I felt embarrassed and ashamed to be near her. I couldn't meet her eyes.
When I saw Ron, I asked if he ever had heard about Tom, this incredibly talented guy from class. Ron said as far as he knew, Tom had given up after a few rejections from literary agents. He told me, "You weren't necessarily the best writer." My kid cracked up at that, even as he added, "But I remember how determined you were, writing on your lunch hour." Of his 120 students, he thinks I'm the only one who ever got published.
So if someone has ever said you weren't good enough or you weren't the star of the class, it still doesn't mean you won't be published.
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