Last summer, before I started my MFA Program at University of Central Florida, I was reading a lot of books about writing memoir. It was then I stumbled across The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life by Marion Roach Smith. The prose was engaging, the personal anecdotes captivating, and I was intrigued by the author’s point of view on things like writing exercises and prompts. During the fall semester, I made contact with Marion via email and after a few exchanges we found the opportunity to speak last week.
In 1983, Marion, age 26 at the time and working at The New York Times, wrote the first first-person account of Alzheimer’s disease. Her mother was 51 and had been diagnosed with the disease, at that time something unfamiliar to most. The New York Times Magazine let Marion write the story and she ended up on the Today show the next day to talk about her experiences. ”It was a game changer,” she said, “I hadn’t thought I was writing memoir, but of course I was.”
As we discussed the evolution of memoir as a genre, Marion agreed that it should be considered a genre and within it, “you could write about your great-grandfather to yesterday’s lunch. You could write personal essays or op-ed pieces for local newspapers. You could write long-form memoir or about one particular thing in your life.” Marion also acknowledges the importance of social media and, in particular, blogging. ”Blogging has had a huge impact – it’s like this hammer we hit the big old memoir with and broke it into pieces. It makes the genre more flexible.”
In addition to writing four books, Marion also teaches memoir writing workshops. Years ago, she was on the board of a local arts center where she opined one too many times about the class offering entitled, “Getting in touch with the right side of your brain using your angel feather.” Finally, they suggested Marion teach the class. She does not use angel feathers or address the genre in metaphysical terms. Instead she says, “I believe in the hard chair, lots of caffeine, and you sit there until you get the thing done. I teach about writing with intent. I don’t do exercises and prompts and try to get students going to the form they really love or other forms they haven’t yet considered. It started as kind of a dare, but fourteen years later, it’s been really successful and I’m teaching all over the place now.”
When Marion and I traded emails last fall, I was taking a “Teaching Creative Writing” class at school. I was intrigued by her adamant rejection of writing exercises and prompts so I asked her more about that when we spoke. ”Writing exercises are the quickest road to hell. They give you the sense you’re good at this writing thing. They give a false sense of security that you don’t need. You need to get to the work.” I was curious, though, how does she then teach people memoir writing without giving them an opportunity to try new techniques. ”We motivate them by the work of others. We don’t write in class, we read in class. We start with the personal essay – it’s the best way to learn how to write. 750 words or fewer and it’s about you.” Much of her six-week course focuses on students reading their work to each other. While some continually revise one piece for the entire six weeks, others write a new piece each week.
The inspiration for The Memoir Project book came from her sister, Margaret Roach, former Editorial Director for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Margaret stepped away from her corporate job in Manhattan to live peacefully in the country, but found when she sat down to write about her experience in doing so, it was difficult. ”I’m struggling,” Margaret told Marion, “what do you tell your students?” Marion sent provocations to her sister through email and Margaret told Marion she should put them into a book. ”We self-published it as sisters with a different title and cover. We sold every copy, then called our agent and said, ‘Look what we made!’ She loved the book, took it to auction, and sold it to my favorite publisher. I love this little book.”
I asked Marion what her greatest advice would be for memoir writers. ”It would be to take the chances of writing in non-traditional form. Try making a list. What did you take when you walked out of a horrible relationship. Take some chances. There are recipes for bad relationships – I’d love to see what yours is. Don’t just think of memoir as that one big book – take a crack at something smaller, cooler, harder, that will bring you to your knees.” And, though no surprise, when asked what her counsel would be to those who teach memoir, she replied, “No more writing prompts! I would like them to try it without them, I really would. Exercises are just barriers – throw them away.”
Through our email exchange, we also learned that, in addition to having our passion for writing in common, we are also both knitters. I couldn’t finish our conversation without asking her about her current knitting project. ”I had this sweater I bought in Paris years ago and I wore it to death. It’s a psychedelic orange in mohair and silk. I have set out to copy it in a combination of mohair, linen, and nylon – it’s delicious!” She was kind enough to ask me about my latest projects and recalled a recent blog post of mine in which I wrote about My Foray into Fair Isle. ”That’s the beauty of knitting,” she said, “What a joy!”
To order copies of “The Memoir Project,” visit this page on Amazon.com.
To visit Marion’s wonderful website with great tips on writing, visit The Memoir Project.
