Memoir Theme is As Important As Plot

A horned bull in famous cave painting in Lascaux, France. Estimated to be approximately 20,000 years old..

UPDATED 1/8/21

A memoir is about something you know after something you’ve been through. The theme of a memoir answers the question “What’s it about?” Before you start to write, sum up your memoir in one sentence that answers this question. One sentence.

This paragraph is a combination of three crucial points I make in the Introduction to Memoir PowerPoint presentation I give locally. The definition of memoir— it’s about something you know after something you’ve been through—comes as a surprise to everyone in the audience at these presentations.

Why?

First, because most people think that memoirs and autobiographies are the same. They are not. A memoir is more like a novel than an autobiography. I discuss this in greater detail in my blog post With Creative Nonfiction, Reality Meets Storytelling. Second, because most people don’t understand the difference between theme and plot.

Do you?

A sample memoir theme is,

It’s about how my mother’s death from lung cancer at a young age caused me to quit smoking and become an anti-tobacco advocate.

The plot explains what happened. What actually happened. The facts. The details. The names, the dates, the places. But that is not the theme. The theme is how the author was changed by her mother’s death from lung cancer; a change that included quitting smoking and becoming an advocate for the anti-tobacco movement. The why of the story—the death of a loved one left you saddened but ultimately wiser and stronger, determined to make a change.

If I’ve already written (a bit) about this, why am I addressing it again? Because I specialize in teaching and editing memoir. I love the genre and I’m determined to help people understand that memoir isn’t autobiography. It’s way cooler and more interesting. But, as I’ve already said, I tell folks, before you start to write, sum up your memoir in one sentence that answers the question what’s it about?

Our Brains are Hardwired for Story Lessons

What has brought me back to this subject is, I’m reading Wired For Story by Lisa Cron. The subtitle is, The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence. This isn’t your average creative writing guide. The main contention of the book is that our human brains have evolved to tell stories to share information and experiences and to want to read or listen to these stories to learn about experiences we have not yet had ourselves. When an early Homo Sapien created a cave painting of a bull goring a man with his horns, it was meant to teach the next guy who moved in a life-saving lesson.

In the first two chapters, Cron works hard to make sure we understand the key concept of storytelling: our brains have evolved to want stories that teach us something. We don’t like chaos or confusion in our minds when we read. We want a problem posed and a problem solved. Even in fiction, our brains crave lessons. What problem is the protagonist facing? How will this problem be resolved? What lessons will the protagonist learn along the way? And, as Cron makes clear, this is not the plot—it is the theme.

Theme in Storytelling is Paramount

The theme, clearly defined and addressed, is more important than the minutia of the plot. Readers want a dilemma presented and triumphed over, because our brains still like to learn something from everything we read. A story that fails to do that will only leave readers frustrated and disappointed. Says Cron,

Since theme is the underlying point the narrative makes about the human experience, it’s also where the universal lies. The universal is a feeling, emotion, or truth that resonates with us all.

I have many pages to go in Wired For Story. But I’ve already learned a valuable lesson as an editor (see, Cron is right): as I do with teaching memoir, a client who is a writer of fiction must be able to answer the question “What’s it about?” with an understanding that I don’t want to hear the plot. I want to know the theme—what the protagonist will know after what the writer puts them through. If a writer can’t answer that question, they are not ready to begin writing.

[UPDATE 8/20/19: I feel the need to clarify Lisa Cron's point about theme vs. plot. She says in a later chapter that theme is not more important than plot; they are equal in importance, but not to be confused. An author should not write a story that uses the theme as the plot. Says Cron, "...your theme begets the story's tone, which begets the mood the reader feels.... Because as crucial as theme is, it is never stated outright; it always implied."]

"My grammar's good, I don't need an editor" and other silly things writers say

UPDATE 1/8/2021

I am a member of several closed writers’ groups on Facebook. I won’t name them. No one I have encountered so far is setting the world on fire with his or her prose, but occasionally I will pick up a useful tidbit about a job website to avoid or a publisher who is currently accepting manuscripts about a particular subject.

Today I read a post from a man who was angry. His five self-published books are currently available on Amazon. You can read the first four for free. That’s rarely a good sign. Anyway, he was upset because he’d gotten a one-star review from someone. The review said, and I’m paraphrasing slightly, the author could benefit from the use of an editor. His grammar is so bad, this book isn’t worth reading, even for free.

'I didn't do nothin' wrong

'

The author, in his rant about this review, explained his characters speak with Southern accents, so he used colloquialisms, writing sentences like, “I’m fixin’ to head into town. If you ain’t goin’ with me, just stay here.” He complained that, and again I’m paraphrasing, the reviewer shouldn’t criticize my attempts to capture a Southerner’s way of speaking. These quotes were written this way intentionally.

I agreed with his premise. Colloquialisms are fun in a skillful writer’s hands (think, Twain). So I went to Amazon, found the author and his five books, and easily located the one-star review. I read it, then I started to read the book online. For free. And I’ve got to tell you, the reviewer was right.

This author, and I might be using the word author too freely, has a Facebook page, so I visited it. There I found a long post about the uselessness of spending money (“hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars”) on an editor for a self-published book. It was, to his mind, an unnecessary expenditure.

You don't know what you don't know

You know the saying “You don’t know what you don’t know”? That’s the problem with this poor, misguided fellow. He interpreted the reviewer’s comment to be a criticism of the colloquialisms. But I’m certain that’s not what he meant. Grammatical mistakes occurred often in the prose. He has poor knowledge of punctuation. His paragraphs are long and riddled with passive-voice sentences. In the 20 or so pages I read, the “to be” verbs nearly lulled me to sleep.

And—yes, I’m going to say it—he was guilty of breaking the rule “show, don’t tell.” In one passage, the author talks about a character walking along a dirt road carrying his rifle. He sees a prairie dog “scurrying along the ground” (as opposed to scurrying among the clouds, I guess) and decides to take a shot at it. The next sentence: “He was an excellent shot.” Pretty compelling stuff, right? I guess the reader must assume the bullet found its mark. Or not. Who knows?

I'm an author, dammit.

This writer sees himself as a “published author.” The advent of easy, cheap self-publishing options has given rise to a slew of writing hobbyists who are now “published authors.” I am not a critic of self-publishing. Not at all. I am, however, a critic of folks who call themselves published authors because they can string a few sentences together, create several two-dimensional characters, produce a story with a beginning, middle, and end, and get it on Amazon for all to read.

One of the comments the writer got in this Facebook thread said you need help with your grammar, to which he replied, and I am not paraphrasing this time, I'm not the slightest bit worried about my grammar.

Well sir, shame on you.

Don't settle for "good enough"

The above-mentioned writer is under the impression, according to his post, that typos and occasional grammatical errors are acceptable and should not distract from the overall quality of a book. I couldn’t disagree more. Well, I would say that, wouldn’t I? I am an editor. Be it a blog post, a magazine article, a textbook, or a novel, I do not settle for “pretty good,” “close enough,” or “good enough” when I edit a piece.

And neither should you.

One more observation: I did not post a comment about the writer’s one-star review in the thread, but many in the group did. After a dozen or more folks encouraged

the man to start using an editor because, well, he desperately needs one, he stopped accepting comments. You don’t know what you don’t know.

What is a Developmental Edit?

UPDATED 12/20/21

A developmental edit is probably best understood at the basic level by thinking about the word developmental. The manuscript begins to develop from its current state toward the final work you want it to be. In Scott Norton's book Developmental Editing: A Handbook for Freelancers, Authors, and Publishers, he personally defines developmental editing:

"...significant structuring or restructuring of a manuscript's discourse."

Norton discusses what I've already mentioned in my previous blog post on manuscript assessments, that even in the industry, opinions vary as to what significant means. At the University of California Press in Berkeley where he worked, a developmental edit was considered:

"...intervention that moves content from one chapter to another, or rearranges the lion's share of a chapter's contents within itself but that falls short of writing new material."

During a developmental edit, I make certain I have a firm grasp on two big-picture questions:

• What is the purpose of the book? Don't lose sight of why this manuscript has been written.

• Who is its intended audience? The author and the DE must keep at least one person in mind at all times who is the ideal reader.

My duties as a developmental editor can be wide-ranging, depending on the levels of experience and confidence of the author. But these are my primary responsibilities:

Suggesting a format that best communicates the thesis (message).

• Restructuring the text to fit the chosen format, which can include adding or deleting material to make the text flow.

• Ensuring consistent structure.

• Identifying gaps in the material (in fiction, this can include plot gaps and problematic characterization).

• Deleting text that does not achieve the agreed upon objective of the book or speak to the target audience.

Illustrations, diagrams, photos, and the like are taken into consideration during this phase, as well. If beta readers have been used, I will review their feedback and work with the author to decide how to incorporate suggestions into the material.

In addition to working as a nonfiction and creative nonfiction editor and writing coach, I am co-author, with Dr. Terri Lyon, of the book Make a Difference with Mental Health Activism: No activism degree required—use your unique skills to change the world. Visit my website page Make a Difference and Dr. Lyon’s activism website Life At The Intersection to learn more about Make a Difference, including how to place bulk orders.