It was a very helpful and informative workshop at the State Library of NSW with Patti Miller. She titled it,
The Difficulty of Truth Telling in Writing a Memoir
No woman is an Island.
We are all part of a family, a circle of friends, work groups, socail groups, – sport, religion, interest, hobbies.
We have a truth – a different truth for each different group.
We become socialised to know what truth to tell to each group.
When we sit down to write a memoir things come to the fore . . .1. We don’ want to hurt the other, family, friends. 2. It might change the way people think of us. 3. There is pressure to be nice, 4. Pressure to keep the peace. . . be the angel in the house.
Yet without feeling free to tell your truth the memoir will luck genuine authenticity.
Some hints to Tell the Truth and Survive
- The tone of your voice. Not what you say . . . it is how you say it. Not bitter, not accusing , not a rort for revenge, not a statement for a statement’s sake . It must be like a velvet glove slipped into context.
- Put it all down in Draft one not to show but it gets a lot of angst out of you and it doesn’t have to be published.
- Remember it is your truth, your opinion, your perspective.
We then workshopped our own writing beginning
My . . . . . . . would not want me to write about . . . .
We did not have to share it, but the brave souls who shared . . .showed us the power of truth – telling.
