Please meet Kathleen Pooler

I’m so happy to introduce my guest today, Kathleen Pooler. Her discussion of the sensory details needed to bring readers into our scenes is spot on. Please click on all the links Kathy provides for very powerful examples.

            

      The Power of Sensory Details in Memoir Writing 

by Kathleen Pooler

       "Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart." 

William Wordsworth

Photo Credit: "Off Yellow" by Steve Sorrell uploaded from Flickr

It's a well-known expectation in writing circles that the key to a compelling read is to use the five senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste – to invite the reader into the scene. What better way to evoke emotions than to enable the reader to see the setting sun behind the snow-laced trees or to see a character's facial expression and the color of his eyes, to hear the calmness in his voice, to feel the softness of his skin, to smell the aroma of baking bread then to taste the steaming bread as the butter melts into it...

When I have an idea for a story, I'll admit, I begin recounting the scene as I remember it. The problem with that has been, I forget that the reader wasn't there. I have to remember, if I care about involving my reader, to stop, slow down and find ways to bring the reader closer to my experience.

Through the constructive feedback of many mentors and fellow writers over the past few years, I have learned about the importance of using sensory details to evoke emotions, both as a reader and as a writer.

And there's no better way to learn about writing than to read many different books. Here's an excerpt from a fascinating novel by Elizabeth Kostava,The Swan Thieves (a psychiatrist with an interest in painting tries to unlock the secrets that torment his patient, a renowned painter) which illustrates the power of sensory details:

"Well," I said, and my boldness alarmed me because deep down I knew-I knew-that it was not me, that it was inspired entirely by Robert's presence and the way he was gazing into my face. "Well, I think this is where you invite me to come home and look at your etchings."

He began to laugh, His eyes lit up, and his generous, ugly, sensuous mouth brimmed with laughter. He slapped his knee. "Exactly. Will you come home with me now and see my etchings."

Through Kostava's sensory detail, I am transported into this scene. It is being in the moment with these characters, feeling the awkwardness and excitement that keeps me turning the pages. I look forward to reuniting with the story each day and have the sense that this story will linger in my mind long after I finish the book.

Now, don't we all want to write stories that will evoke emotions in our readers?

Here are a few enlightening resources I'd like to share that elaborate on how to accomplish this:

L.L. Barkat, Managing Editor of High Calling.Org and author of Rumors of Water: Thoughts on Creativity and Writing, reinforces in this blog post "6 Things Your Writing Must Have to Wow Readers" that "the best writing activity revolves around the same six emotions ~Anger, Love, Sorrow, Joy, Fear and Surprise." She advises us to "use solid details to create a very clear picture while leaving something uncertain to have some intrigue."

And here's another eloquent post by L.L. Barkat, "Feel Your Way Through Words" on her blog, Seedlings in Stone, about capturing the sensory details in the moment and weaving them into our own story.

Memoir coach, Jerry Waxler, of Memory Writer's Network posted an excellent interview with Indian writer, Bhaswati Ghosh. Treat yourself to her story, "Love in Hyderabad," a beautifully written escapade into her culture, her city and her experience of falling in love.

I am learning to pay attention to my surroundings in the moment, to notice the details that make the difference both in what I am reading and in what I am writing. I guess there really is something to the adage, "the devil is in the details." Getting in touch with the details will be the first step in using them to bring my story alive to my reader.

I have recently discovered an excellent resource for describing emotions  called The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

How do the details work for you? Do you feel you are able to evoke emotions through sensory details in your writing? What stories still linger with you long after you finish reading or writing them?

Let's talk~

Photo Credit: "Evoking Emotions" uploaded from Google Free Images

About Kathleen Pooler: I also met Kathy on a Google+ hangout about memoir writing. And it was "like at first sight" for both of us. How could it not, just look at her beautiful smile.

Kathleen Pooler is a writer and a retired Family Nurse Practitioner who is working on a memoir about how the power of hope through her faith in God has helped her to transform, heal and transcend life’s obstacles and disappointments: divorce, single parenting, loving and letting go of an alcoholic son, cancer, and heart failure to live a life of joy and contentment. She believes that hope matters and that we are all strengthened and enlightened when we share our stories.

She blogs weekly at her Memoir Writer’s Journey blog: http://krpooler.com and can be found on Twitter @kathypooler and on LinkedIn, Google+, Goodreads and Facebook: Kathleen Pooler

         

One of her stories, “The Stone on the Shore,” is published in the anthology: “The Woman I’ve Become: 37 Women Share Their Journeys From Toxic Relationships to Self-Empowerment” by Pat LaPointe.

Sharon Melton Lippincott - My first guest

I’m so honored to have Sharon Melton Lippincott as my first guest. We met a few months ago when we both participated on a Google+ hangout, and we have found a mutual connection regarding memoir and lifestory writing ever since. Sharon wrote a wonderful review of my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On for the Story Circle Book Reviews, which I’m sure helped catapult it to the Story Circle Editors’ book pick for November. Thank you so much, Sharon, for being here today. And that you chose to write about reading my book is a huge bonus!

A Writer’s Read on Leaving the Hall Light On

by Sharon Melton Lippincott

About five years ago I responded to a challenge and began posting reviews of books on Amazon and other sites, unaware that doing so would change the way I read and ultimately the way I write. Over sixty reviews later, I can honestly say that the enjoyment and value I get from reading has at least tripled.

This enhanced reading mode led me to notice many fascinating aspects of Madeline Sharples’ memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On. Let me share a few with you that may also enhance your reading of the book:

The first chapter reminds me of leaves swirling in a whirlwind before they come to rest, or puzzle pieces awaiting assembly. I was instantly swept into the nightmarish scene that forms the heart, the core, of this book. It appears that life previous to this scene spirals inward toward the horror that began on this day. Everything after spirals out beyond, but all of Madeline's subsequent life is anchored to this moment.

The shocking start instantly introduces Paul, the focus of the book, then she jumps directly into the book’s present. From there she circles back to the time of Paul’s birth, essentially laying out a map of the story, bit by bit. She summarizes her thoughts, explains the title, and summarizes the situation with a story. I was energized at the conclusion of the final poem, and eager to learn more.

This is a chapter of fragments, pieces of a puzzle laid out to show us the range of the story. The rest of the book fits them together. Emotion swirls as rapidly as events, mixing joy, guilt, rage and love with abandon. I experience the added richness the photo and poems lend to the pulsing narrative, bluntly introducing truths and paving the way for further discussion.

Moving through subsequent chapters I discover that this book has an unusual structure: each chapter has a theme that could stand on its own. Each chapter is a spoke, connecting the core of the story with the larger picture. I notice how she gradually develops Paul as a character, showing a bit of him here, a bit there; ultimately I feel as if I also knew him, achieving one of her primary purposes.

I notice that this structure calls for some material to be told two or three times, sometimes from alternate perspectives, sometimes seeming a bit repetitive. I pay close attention to the way she writes about her initial state of denial, virtually gutting her psyche and laying it out for our inspection. What courage, I think. She not only lived through this once, she lived through it again in the writing.

I admire the way she uses snippets of her husband’s journals to allow him to give his own perspective, which cleverly works around the memoirist’s dilemma of not being able to put words in someone else’s mouth. She also uses input from her son Ben to circumvent traditional limitations and enrich her story.

Rather than continue, I leave the rest of the book for you to explore, hopefully with more insight as you think about reviewing it. Perhaps you can tell that reading has acquired a third dimension, introducing depth and meaning I’d previously sensed only vaguely, if at all. You can read the review I ultimately wrote here.

Sharon bio:

"You make me think!" When she hears this line, Sharon Lippincott, author of The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing, knows she's been successful. Her insightful questions and observations have challenged people in many areas for decades. Today they are primarily aimed at students in her lifestory and creative writing classes along with readers of her blog, forum posts, book reviews, and other publications. Sharon serves on the Advisory Board of the National Association of Memoir Writers, cohosts the lively Life Writers Forum on YahooGroups, and advises the Allegheny County Library Association on their project to implement lifestory writing groups in county libraries. She frequently appears as a panelist on the Indie Authors webcast, and lives and writes in Monroeville, PA. Sharon maintains her own blog, The Heart and Craft of Life Writing.

Introducing my guests

For a change of pace I’m going to devote the next three weeks to the voices of other wonderful and experienced writers and publishers. I’ve asked eight people whom I’ve either met personally or online to tell you about their writing, publishing, and marketing experiences.

I feel so fortunate that they have agreed to be my guests here on Choices. I hope you will keep coming back for more and more. You’ll find the information interesting and very helpful to your writing lives.

Here’s my guest lineup in order of appearance:

Sharon Lippincott            November 26

Sharon is the author of The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing, knows she's been successful. Her insightful questions and observations have challenged people in many areas for decades. Today they are primarily aimed at students in her lifestory and creative writing classes along with readers of her blog, forum posts, book reviews, and other publications.

Kathleen Pooler            November 29

Kathy is a writer and a retired Family Nurse Practitioner who is working on a memoir about how the power of hope through her faith in God has helped her to transform, heal and transcend life’s obstacles and disappointments: divorce, single parenting, loving and letting go of an alcoholic son, cancer and heart failure to live a life of joy and contentment.

Mike O’Mary                      December 2

Mike is founding dreamer of Dream of Things (my publisher), and a writer of essays, fiction, drama, and sketch comedy. He says, “I started Dream of Things because I wanted to find ways for us to work together more often. I also hope to make a lot of new friends and to work with many of them. Dream of Things is a place where other “dreamers” can share their ideas and stories and have fun in the process.”

Deborah Kalan                 December 5

Deborah says, “It feels great to send my words out to the universe and hope that something I say, some group of words or stack of sentences might affect someone in a positive, reflective way. That’s when I know if I’m asked ‘what do you do’? I can casually and with great confidence say, ‘I’m a writer.’”

Cheryl Stahle                    December 7

Cheryl, author of Slices of Life: the Art and Craft of Memoir Writing, is a memoirist, writing coach, teacher and author. She has set as her life mission to help people tell their life stories using her years of experience as a writing coach combined with a slightly off-center perspective of the world.

Keith Alan Hamilton     December 10

Keith says, “I’m a publisher, editor, poet, writer and cell phone photographer.  I have a mind that fires on all cylinders; I think and think and think about everything, often to the point of mania, which leads to mental fatigue with extreme lows of prolonged depression.  I have thought of suicide so often, I’ve gotten used to it as a part of me being me.”  

Sonia Marsh             December 13

Sonia is a “Gutsy” woman who can pack her carry-on and move to another country in one day. She’s a motivational speaker who inspires her audiences to get out of their comfort zone and take a risk. She says everyone has a “My Gutsy Story”; some just need a little help to uncover theirs. Her story, told in her travel memoir Freeways to Flip-Flops: A Family’s Year of Gutsy Living on a Tropical Island, is about chucking it all and uprooting her family to reconnect on an island in Belize.

Doreen Cox               December 16

Doreen’s first book, Adventures in Mother-Sitting, is a memoir of her three years as a full-time caregiver. The experience as her mother’s caregiver offered the ultimate spiritual adventure, bringing to the author bittersweet lessons related to trust, faith, unconditional love and compassion.