Writing over the Ego
What keeps us from getting
the story onto the page—the one that will knock their socks off? It’s that
internal editor, the voice on your shoulder that has no backbone, no faith in
your abilities, no nerve.
If you’re writing a memoir,
beware of this sniggeley little creature often referred to as the ego. It’s
worried about what people will think, of hurting Aunt Gladys’s feelings—that the
whole damn family is going to be mad. Never mind all that because if you’ve
made the decision to write your story, you have to make it an honest story. No
one wants to read the version of your life where you take out all the juicy
stuff—the substance—and everything just sails along and you’ve done all these
interesting things and met all these interesting people, but no one ever does
anything wrong. No one has kept you up at night, betrayed you, or cheated on you.
What about all those lies you told to get into graduate school? That’s going to
make a great backstory, let people know you’ve done some brash business in your
day—but maybe you just don’t want anyone to know about the real you. If that’s
the case, put the manuscript away and take up painting.
Trouble is, painting has the
same danger zones. If the artist makes calculated brush strokes instead of
letting the paint brush fly across the canvas without a thought about the
critics, the result is flat. The painting lacks authenticity and does not evoke
emotion or pull anyone in because there’s no real emotion behind the brush
strokes. It’s too calculated.
Tell the whole story and don’t
self-critique as you go. Now I’m not
saying go ahead and out Uncle Albert, I’m suggesting that the best writing
flows freely from a place where the ego and the critical mind gets out of the
way, steps aside and lets the story onto the page. Later on, during the second
draft, make sure the reader knows what you know. Look for ways to improve your
exposition, correct your grammar and enrich your story.
The best writing is in the
rewriting, but the first draft is a blank page upon which you are channeling
your story. Knock that twerp off your shoulder, relax, and let the words flow from
the deepest, most honest place in your soul with all the talent you have for
stringing words together and engaging your readers. It’s a wild party, and you
can clean up the mess later.
~Camille
