An Introduction to HarperTrue...

Hello there

We at HarperTrue are used to being moved and inspired by the true story submissions we read – stories with passion, humour, sincerity and hope. So we thought we would share with you our thoughts on what makes a true-life memoir stand out to us.



Usually, the most resonant stories that cross our desks are those that generate an emotional connection with which the reader can identify and take strength from. This tends to come through in the writing when the author has a clear sense of not only what they are writing about, but why they want to commit it to paper. Whether you want to write your own true story or that of someone to whom you have a connection, take the time to think about what you want to convey to the reader, what you want them to take away from your writing and what is your ‘message’. Also, keep in mind at this stage for whom you are writing the book - your target market should also dictate how you shape your writing.

STRUCTURE
Once you have thought about why you are writing and what you want your message to be, use this to build your structure. Often, when submitting a manuscript, an outline or proposal document is useful to give an overview of your text. But it is also really helpful for you at the beginning of the writing process. Putting together a précis of your book will help you to identify key moments in your story and will also give a sense of the emotional arc of what you want to say. Don't be afraid to spend plenty of time writing this outline – it will help you to shape your thoughts and consider key characters and scenes, and your structural options.

Writers often talk about stories having a ‘beginning, middle or an end’, or perhaps an ‘introduction/set-up, crisis, conclusion/resolution’. These are fixed structures, but might work for your writing as they lend themselves to telling an inspirational story from a beginning point to a natural conclusion, usually including either a crisis and resolution or a momentous change of circumstances that will form the core of your story.

SHOW, NOT TELL
When you do start writing, remember to 'show, not tell' your story. The reader will connect with you most strongly if they learn what is happening through actions and reactions, and strong descriptions of characters and situations, rather than being told. Spend time thinking about your characters as individuals – what their particular motivations are and how these manifest themselves. Think also about what you associate certain people with – to find visual and verbal triggers for their language and actions. It’s incredibly useful to imagine your story as a film, playing on a screen in front of you. Try to tell it through visual scenes and conversations/speeches, rather than too many off-stage directions and summaries. Realistic conversations are very difficult to write, so to help you try watching and listening to people and comparing the words they actually say to what you glean from watching them – there is a vast difference. I saw a silent film last weekend, and was amazed by the amount of detail that was conveyed to the viewer through simple visual actions and body language with almost no written prompts – this is how we read situations and people every day but it’s rarely as obvious as when you take the words out of the equation.

CONCLUSION / ENDING
As a guide, most publishers expect a manuscript of approximately 70-90,000 words as the minimum length for a book, but sometimes it is as difficult to select a natural ‘end point’ for your story as it is to know where to start. Think again about why you are telling this story and what impression – visual and emotional – that you want to leave with your reader, and be guided by this.

And finally, remember that writing a memoir or true story, especially if it is your own, can be extremely emotionally exhausting, as it often involves going back to both good and bad times in your life, so give yourself plenty of time and space for your writing.

Good luck with your writing, and we look forward to hearing from you!

The HarperTrue Team