Devoted to publishing, publishers and to those who craft the written word

I'm setting a bad example. Over the weekend, I went to a quiet, hilarious dinner party with some close friends.

Unfortunately, I’ve been swamped with projects and I didn’t write a single word about this minor, yet entertaining episode from my life. Little details about my friends, our lifestyles and the soggy winter of 2008 will soon fade into oblivion.

That's why writers like Janice Erlbaum put me to shame. She keeps impeccable track of her memories, and has made journal-keeping an integral part of her life—a practice that produced two personal, intricate books.

Her most recent work is Have You Found Her, a look at Erlbaum’s caring, but troubled, relationship with a young runaway. This week, she’ll teach us how to preserve our memories and write better at the same time.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
In the book, you refer to copying down dialogue and scenes in your notebook a few times. I can imagine you were doing this constantly. In your experience, what's the best way to record an experience you want to write about later? What's the best way to record intricate details and conversations without spoiling the actual experience?

Janice Erlbaum:
I am an avid journal-keeper and a fairly consistent blogger, so writing down things as they happen is part of my ongoing creative process, whether I’m working on a book-length project or not. Continue reading...

 

Most of the scenes and dialogue that I recorded during my relationship with Sam were recorded as part of my near-daily writing routine, and not because I was keeping notes for an eventual book. I highly recommend to writers that they keep a journal (of course, most of them find this advice redundant, as they’re already doing so), just to clear their heads of whatever junk may be floating around in there; also so that they can see what they’re thinking about the most, and use that to guide them both creatively and emotionally.

But I don’t know how I would adapt that advice specifically for people who are going through something they already know they’re going to want to write about later. I guess I would recommend that they try not to think too much about the book they’re planning during the note-taking phase; just live the events and experience them fully, and be as honest with yourself as possible about your feelings when you write in your journal.

Don’t worry about accuracy in your journal, or about creating perfect transcripts; memoirs are more about feelings than facts. To bastardize the Mark Twain quote, “Write like nobody’s watching.” That’s the only way to get an honest account of your experiences down.