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"Research is directly linked to truth in memoir. Many memoirists feel they need more facts in order to start; in order to keep going; in order to finish. I have worked with writers who are convinced they need to interview family members to get their take on what really happened. I have worked with writers who have decided they can’t or won’t write until they find that one particular journal (which they can’t find, of course) that captures the essence of 1973 in all its intensity. I have worked with writers who, when they come across something that should be verified, jump out of the Word document they’re working in and Google Google Google until they find what they’re looking for."

- From Research and Memoir by Linda Joy Myers (9/1/2012)

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When to Stop Research OR Research as Procrastination

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When to Stop Research OR Research as Procrastination

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"If you hear a voice in your head saying -- even in the tiniest whisper -- "Oh boy, aren't I smart!" -- that's your signal to cut. That piece of research doesn't serve the book's needs, only your own." - Janet Sternburg, author of WHITE MATTER, Writer's Digest "Nothing is Really Wasted: Tips on Researching Your Memoir."

You have to be careful with research because while it can be incredibly fun to explore everything related to your book, it can also take up all of your time. You also need to write. Especially with the first draft, research can be light.

Remember that you can fix things in revision. You can write, "I rode the XYZ boat to the town of ABC and arrived before dawn."

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Part of research is questioning the information you find.

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Problem: You don't remember everything about the time or place you are writing about.

Solution: Research to help recover your memories.

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Ursula Pike

Author of the memoir: An Indian Among Los Indigenas.

MFA Creative Nonfiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts

Published in Lit Hub, Yellow Medicine Review, World Literature Today and others

Teach Memoir at Austin Community College

Lives in Austin, grew up in California and Oregon

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In your research, you'll find material that contradicts what you know to be true. Rather than ignoring this incongruity, you can add it to your story. Use it to fuel your curiosity.

Anyone from a marginalized community will find this frequently because much of our history and stories were told by other people. It isn't always bad but even that can reveal something.

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- We'll take a 10 minute break around 11:30.
- General questions are great but specific questions about your memoir might require follow up after class.
- You will have access to this presentation for the next month and we'll send out a PDF within a week.
- You will be muted but can ask questions in the chat box or use the "raise hand" feature.
- Session is being recorded.

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It can be tempting to cut and paste entire articles into your memoir thinking you'll have time to revise it later. Instead, read the article and make notes on what you find interesting.

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"Carlisle High School stocked its seats and bleachers with a familiar cast from the eighties: the athletes who towered above the rest of us; the cheerleaders who lay supine beneath them; the geeks with their physics books under their arms; the preps with their Tretorns, Swatches, and impeccable Benetton sweaters; a handful of black kids with MC Hammer pants and tall, square Afros, tightly faded; punks and skaters with their leather jackets and black Converse; a few swirly hippies; the rednecks with their oily palms and cigarettes and trucks. Carlisle High School was another cultural cul-de-sac built with the craftman blueprint of John Hughes, the Frank Lloyd Wright of teen malaise."

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For anyone who has ever felt like they don’t belong, Sigh, Gone shares an irreverent, funny, and moving tale of displacement and assimilation woven together ...

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This page is an example of taking something that was presented as truth and pointing out problems with it.

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You can always comment on anything in this padlet.
Link: https://padlet.com/upike/MoreThanMemory

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Memoirs begin with a writer attempting to understand their lives, but personal reflections can only take you so far in a memoir.

Research can give a deeper meaning to your personal narrative and help you find specific details that you had forgotten or never knew. In this workshop we’ll discuss the variety of research techniques that can strengthen your personal narrative. We’ll look at examples of research in memoirs that provide social, cultural, or environmental context to a personal narrative. We will details the why, how, and when of researching your memoir, the dos and don’ts of research, and how to keep research from becoming procrastination. The workshop will include a discussion of unique and outdated research and how writers can reflect on imperfect sources in their memoirs.

Today's Workshop

- Discuss why research can enhance your memoir

- How to research

- What to research

- Imperfect Sources

- How to incorporate the research

- Writing exercises

** IF YOU HAVE A MEMOIR OR ESSAY THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON - We'll be doing a few exercises and you can use that but don't worry if you don't. **

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You are writing a memoir and want to understand how research might help you tell your story.

You can’t remember everything about the time in your life that you’re writing about.

You’d like to make your memoir more dynamic by including historical context.

You’re just starting to write your memoir and aren’t sure if your story is enough.

You’re revising your memoir and know it needs something but aren’t sure what

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The first thing I want you to do is the 5-4-3-2-1 Technique. (3 to 5 minutes)

5. SEE: Write down five (5) things that you can see around you. Pen or stapler, bird or tree, a family photo on the wall, or a glass of water on the kitchen counter. You can pick between big and small items to keep your options open.

4. TOUCH: Write down four things that you can touch around you. Hair, hands, elbows, and other parts of your body, the ground beneath your feet, whether it’s the floor of your bedroom, pillows, desks, phones, and keyboards.

3. HEAR: Write down three things you can hear around you. Focus on external noises like a car nearby, a clock ticking, or a dog barking.

2. SMELL: Write down two things around you that you can smell. This step may be a challenge compared to the others if you don’t smell anything wherever you are at the moment. Your skin, your shirt, your coffee, your breath.

1. TASTE: Write down one thing around you that you can taste. Toothpaste and minty floss, breakfast taco sitting next to you, the sandwich and chips you have for lunch, coffee, tea, and other drinks you have to get through the day also work.

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Stress and anxiety are often the biggest obstacles when it comes to important moments in our lives. While situations such as receiving a promotion at work, taking final exams, going on a flight, and performing in a sports competition can be exciting and positive experiences, without proper stress management, the fear of failure and need for success can have a negative impact on not only the results, but our long-term health.

That's where the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique comes in, as it is designed to ease your state of mind so that you can get through stressful moments. The goal with this exercise is to use the five senses to focus on the moment and avoid multiple anxious thoughts that can get in the way of your progress.

Deep, slow, and long breaths are your first priority for achieving a calm state before proceeding to the following steps:

5. SEE: Acknowledge five things that you can see around you. Options can range from a pen or stapler at your office to a bird or tree while you're out at the local park. If you're at home, you can look at a family photo on the wall or a glass of water on the kitchen counter. You can pick between big and small items to keep your options open.

4. TOUCH: Acknowledge four things that you can touch around you. You can start with your hair, hands, elbows, and other parts of your body if you're short on time. The ground beneath your feet, whether it's the floor of your bedroom or the office at work, also helps. Pillows, desks, phones, and keyboards can fit this step.

3. HEAR: Acknowledge three things you can hear around you. Instead of listening to your own thoughts or sounds from your body like your stomach growling, focus on external noises. Examples include someone driving a car nearby, a clock ticking, or a dog barking. If you're at work, you can listen to typing and the steps of people walking by your desk.

2. SMELL: Acknowledge two things around you that you can smell. This step may be a challenge compared to the others, so it's best to go to a place with more sources of scent if you don't smell anything wherever you are at the moment. The outdoors has plenty of options for smells, and the soap in bathrooms also helps. Your furniture can provide pleasant smells for this step when you're home.

1. TASTE: Acknowledge one thing around you that you can taste. It doesn't necessarily have to be food, as toothpaste and minty floss you use in the morning or at night are easy sources. You can also go with the cinnamon-raisin oatmeal you have for breakfast, the sandwich and chips you have for lunch, or the pasta primavera you have for dinner. Coffee, tea, and other drinks you have to get through the day also work.

End this exercise with a long, deep breath.

With these steps, you will be able to get the most out of the moment. Focusing on your senses will help you be more mindful, which will then help you accomplish your tasks and experience success. As a result, you can defeat your anxiety and feel in control of your life. Put this technique into practice to so that you can improve your health and make those big days fun!

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Unwind this Monday with the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique

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The goal of the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique is to use the five senses to focus on the moment and avoid multiple anxious thoughts.

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Nine journals I used while writing my book.

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But I also researched Bolivia and the themes in the book.

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This is what we think of when we think of research. A library with an overwhelming number of books. Where to even start?

Research answers a question or solves a problem.

Research, for this workshop, is anything outside of your personal memories. In a minute, I will give examples of those resources.

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CONTEXT: Your experiences shown in context to the world around you will make for a vivid, rich memoir.

Were you the first person in your family, state, or country to do something? Were you the last?

What happened before the time you are writing about that might explain why your story unfolded the way it did?

What happened after the time you are writing about that was influenced by the events in the story?

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Adapted from diagram in Judith Barrington's book: Writing the Memoir

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Intimates includes family and other close relationships

Neighborhood: school, friends

Communities: Work, subcultures, acquaintances

Country: Mass culture, stranger

"The memoir can enter any of these circles, and ideally will move back and forth between them or show how they are layered one on top of the other...Even when the subject matter is less personal (outer circles), the personal voice is always what carries the reader from private life into the public world and then back again. The personal voice is what the reader comes to trust. It is the sturdy vehicle that will carry him from the most intimate corners of the writer's childhood into the wide open spaces of a shared culture." - Judith Barrington, Writing the Memoir.

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What are the beginning and end dates of your story?

BEGINNINGS

The day you were born?

The day you were conceived?

When your great grandparents came to the U.S.?

When the Texas/Mexico border changed?

Juneteenth?

ENDINGS

The day you signed your divorce papers?

The year you went to college?

The return flight from overseas?

The day you reached your destination?

Knowing the timeline will help you identify research that can be done.

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My Circles

South Austin, Southpark Meadows from Longhorns to Dave and Busters, Austin economy, housing prices. Where would these elements fit on the circles?

Your Circles

Right now, on a piece of paper or on a computer, list the different circles in the memoir you are/want to write. You can draw a circle or list. Spend five minutes listing items that fit under these lists.

As we continue in the workshop, I want you to make notes to yourself as ideas occur to you about items.

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This excerpt from Cheryl Strayed's memoir WILD: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.

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Listening to and performing music reactivates areas of the brain associated with memory, reasoning, speech, emotion, and reward. Two recent studies—one in the United States and the other in Japan—found that music doesn't just help us retrieve stored memories, it also helps us lay down new ones.

Create a playlist of songs from the specific time you are writing about. It doesn't have to be your favorite songs, the point is to put you in that place mentally. Look up the charts for the years you are writing about.

Listen to the music that specific people listened to.

In her essay "Conjuring Egypt with Music" (Poets & Writers 4.11.22) novelist Dalia Azhim discusses how she listened to Egyptian music from the 1950s to "put her in the right mindset" to write Country of Origin. Are there hymns or gospel music that brings to mind the community you're writing about?

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Talk to family members. This doesn't have to be a formal interview.
"Remember that terrible old blue car we used to drive to Oklahoma every Christmas, where did you buy that?" You can tell them you're writing a memoir or you can wait until the memoir is written and let them read it.

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Examine pictures of the time, place, and people you are writing about. Make notes of the expression on their faces, their hair, what's behind them, what's not in the picture, and anything else that stands out to you.

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What were you watching? Did your grandfather love Hee Haw? Maybe you write about the shows they loved, maybe you write a scene that involves the time you watch it with him, maybe you use it to give yourself and your readers insight into the narrator and other characters.

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You can ask yourself the questions a journalist would ask about your topic.
WHO? Who is involved, affected?
WHAT? What are you writing about? What's the topic? What's the problem?
WHERE? Where did it happen?
WHEN? Did it happen in the past? What historical forces shaped the problem or issue?
WHY? Why is this important? Why are you writing about it?
HOW? How has this event/relationship/issue impacted you? How did you resolve the problem or learn to move on?

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Share your techniques in the chat.

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Think of an essay or memoir that you've been working on. Make a list of facts that inform the piece. These can be implied rather than stated in the piece.

"It is Halloween 1989 and my best friend just told me his boyfriend tested positive for HIV. We are sipping overpriced cocktails in what used to be the best dance club in Portland but is now mostly bachelorette parties. I am wearing a bald wig because I am Mahatma Gandhi that year. My best friend is a skeleton but the white makeup is wearing off on everything he touches."

Think of all the facts implied in this piece:

- HIV epidemic in Portland in 1989. Society's view of AIDS and HIV during this time.

- Dance clubs and their place in gay culture

- Mahatma Gandhi

- Portland in the 1980s

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Helen Macdonald is a falconer and naturalist but she consulted other books while writing her very successful memoir H is for Hawk. Interestingly, she came to UT Austin's Ransom Center to research the archive they have of the writer T.H. White who wrote about hawks. (Link: https://sites.utexas.edu/ransomcentermagazine/2016/03/25/of-grieving-and-goshawks-an-interview-with-h-is-for-hawks-helen-macdonald/)

Read what other people have written about the main themes in your memoir.

Read books with a different theme but that take the approach you want to take with your memoir.

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Maps of the places we've lived can give us a different perspective on the place. Maps can also remind us of things we may have forgotten.

How might a map of the Fall Foliage in the United States inspire a chapter of your memoir?

- Add a vivid detail to your memories of starting school.

- Explain why you were wearing shorts in October in Texas.

What other maps might be useful for your story?

Monarch Butterfly Migration

Growing seasons in your garden zone

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The 2023 Fall Foliage Map is the ultimate visual planning guide to the annual progressive changing of the leaves. While no tool can be 100% accurate, this tool is meant to help travelers better time their trips to have the best opportunity of catching peak color each year.

Why Do Autumn Leaves Change Their Color?

Some consider it to be the most incredible time of the year. Gorgeous colors vibrantly encoring the end of summer as the trees put themselves to bed for the long sleep of winter. The Great Smoky Mountains floods with thousands upon thousands of annual visitors all hoping to achieve a breathtaking view of the beautiful renaissance of nature.

The Science Of It All

It all starts with photosynthesis. Leaves typically produce their vivid hues of green from spring through summer into early fall through the constant creation of Chlorophyll. As we all learned in 5th grade science, Chlorophyll is the key component in a plant's ability to turn sunlight into glucose, which in turn feeds the trees. Many millions of these Chlorophyll cells saturate the leaves, ultimately making them appear green to the eye.

Did you know?

Without the presence of Chlorophyll in the leaf, the bright golds, reds, yellows, and browns would be the natural colors seen year round.

The Changing Colors

Chlorophyll is not the only player in the fall leaf-color game. Present in other leaves and trees are the compounds known as Carotenoids and Anthocyanins. As the Fall days begin to get shorter and shorter, the production of Chlorophyll slows to a hault, eventually giving way to the 'true' color of the leaf.

Oranges

Beta-Carotene

Beta-Carotene is one of the most common carotenoids present in most leaves. Strongly absorbing blue and green light, it reflects yellow and red light from the sun, giving leaves their orange hue.

Reds

Anthocyanins

Unlike the carotenoids, anthocyanin production increases dramatically with autumn. This protects the leaf, prolonging its life on the tree through the Autumn season, and also provides the beautiful red color to the leaf.

Yellows

Flavonols

Flavonols, a part of the flavonoid family, are always present in leaves, and also contribute to the yellow color of egg yolks. While always present in leaves, it's not seen until the production of Chlorophyll stops and Chlorophyll is broken down into other compounds.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.- ALBERT CAMUS

Why do leaves fall?

The beauty of nature is sometimes found in the profound 'intelligence' it exudes. Perennials, which includes trees, must protect themselves in order to get through the harsh, freezing temperatures of winter. If trees did not shed their leaves, their soft vegetation would certainly freeze during winter time, damaging and, no doubt, killing the tree.

In order to cope with the grueling winter temperatures, trees slowly close off the veins that carry water and nutrients to and from the leaves with a layer of new cells that form at the base of the leaf stem, protecting the limbs and body of the tree. Once the process of new cell creation is complete, water and nutrients no longer flow to and fro from the leaf - this enables the leaf to die and weaken at the stem, eventually falling gracefully to the ground.

I trust in nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant and autumn garner to the end of time.- ROBERT BROWNING

What happens to the fallen leaves?

Earth, among other things, is fantastic at recycling. Whether through the water cycle, or the slow process of decomposing plants and trees back in to rich soil, the Earth wastes very little.

When leaves fall to the ground, they begin to break down and eventually create a rich humus on the forest floor that absorbs dew and rainfall. This nutrient rich 'sponge' acts as a continual source of nutrients and water for trees and plants, helping to promote life and plant health in the next spring season.

It is not difficult to conclude that while the falling of the leaves protects the trees through winter, it's likely that trees would not survive as well without the rich layer of dead leaves through the warm spring and summer months. In this way, trees' natural cycle provides health and sustainability for itself year after year.

Join In On The Fun!

Autumn is a time for family and fun. Enjoy this free coloring book with your children! Simply click to download and print.

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When will the leaves start changing? When will they peak? Our Nationwide 2023 Fall Foliage Map and leaf prediction tool has answers and progressive county-level predictions.

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For Nuar Alsadir's book "Animal Joy: A Book of Laughter and Resuscitation" she went to clown school to learn about laughter.

Is there a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course - https://www.mooc.org/) for something related to your memoir? What if you're writing about your sister and she was a Biomedical Engineer. There is a course titled "So You Want to be a Biomedical Engineer."

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JSTOR provides access to academic journals and research. Academic dissertations and theses are another great source of academic thought on your topic. The question I was always trying to answer was "What do other people have to say about this thing (culture/experiences/etc.) that is important to me and my story?"
- Museums
- Documentaries

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JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources.

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What would a doctor or a psychologist say about your narrator or the other characters in your memoir? Were you or your characters impacted with injuries, ailments, addictions, diseases, medical or mental health illness etc.? I'm a fan of Psychology Today.

- Instead of writing, "My mother was a narcissist." Research narcissism and the typical traits a narcissist has. Can you use that knowledge to describe actions or habits of your mother?

- Use research on the symptoms and effects of that illness or disease to give specific details.

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- Research Your Metaphors. USDA has details on every plant ever grown in North America.
- Data on Federal Programs. Were you ever impacted by a federal program? Schools, food, roads, national parks.
- Census data.

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Spend 5 minutes making a list of diseases, illnesses, injuries, medicines or therapies that you or someone in your life had.
Select one and write for 5 minutes on how this impacted your life when you were younger and 5 minutes on how this impacts your life now.

Next steps: After this workshop, research the causes, symptoms and treatment options for the disease and write an essay contrasting the official medical description with your experience.

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Truth is sometimes hard and fast and sometimes slippery.

Think about things that used to be true but are no longer true:

1. Pluto isn't a planet

2. Texas is no longer part of Mexico

Spend 3 minutes listing a few things that you always thought were true but ended up not being true:

1. No one in my family ever saw a therapist or psychologist.

2. My mother made her cakes from scratch.

3. My family has "Spanish" roots.

Now write freely for 7 minutes on when you learned those truths were not true.

Alternatively, write about something you think might be true or false but don't know for sure.

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[This is from The Rough Writer's Guide by Dr. Sandi Van Lieu available at https://pressbooks.pub/roughwritersguide/chapter/writing-process-overview/]
I like to spend the most time doing research during two specific times in the writing process:
#1. Pre-writing
#2. Revising

And to be perfectly honest, I think it should be part of both steps for different reasons.

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Adapted from diagram in Writing the Memoir

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Remember our layers. The research you've done will fall at different points on these layers. However, during revision you have to cut the research that doesn't connect to you or to the story you're trying to tell.

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[Joseph Heller's outline for Catch-22 from https://michelleboydwaters.com/handwritten-outlines-of-famous-authors/]
If you are someone who likes to outline, you can identify  research and where to put in the outline.

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During revision, you can identify where you think you need to add content, what research you need to do.

Research can wait until after your first draft.

"I encourage writers to make use of the TK. TK is an editorial term that means “To Come.” Highlight your TKs and come back to them later."

- From Research and Memoir by Linda Joy Myers (9/1/2012)

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Keep notes on what you have research, what you want to research, sources, timelines, etc.

List the questions you want to answer with research.

Write to remember and document where you found that information in case you need to go back.

Write to understand. We are writers and sometimes the best way to understand something is to write it out. Discover patterns.

Write to record your reaction to the research. How did you feel when you first learned that your father had a family before he married your mother?

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"I realized that if I were to stop at every single moment and go and do research and then come back and write the book, I would probably never finish the book. So for maybe the first three drafts, I only did enough research to where I could kind of finish out the scene and move on to the next portion. So that very first draft was very research light. Then in revisions, I would come back having done more research every single time, building and building until I felt like there was this robust manuscript that was kind of iron clad with all the research that I had accumulated over my time writing. From a technical aspect, I used Scrivener. They have a whole research tab in there and I made categories for every single avenue that I was exploring. Whether it was the Chinese immigrant experience in Idaho or just Chinese women in general or transportation, I had separate categories that I could funnel all of my research into and that's how I kept track of everything."
- Jenny Tinghui Zhang, author of Four Treasures of the Sky in an interview.

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Creative non-fiction writing prompts give you a frame through which to write on a topic, even if you know what you want to write about. A good sources for prompts is Poets & Writers Magazine "The Time is Now" prompts. Every Creative Writing craft book will have writing prompts.

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Our free weekly e-newsletter provides links to the newest online content from Poets & Writers Magazine, plus highlights from our blogs, writing contest deadlines, job listings, and more.

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Founded in 1970, Poets & Writers is the nation's largest nonprofit organization serving creative writers. Our mission is to foster the professional development of poets

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Let me know if you have any questions.

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You can "remake" this padlet. I will also PDF the padlet and it will be sent out to you.
Link: https://padlet.com/upike/MoreThanMemory

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Thank you for your time today!

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You are writing a memoir, not an encyclopedia. Most of your research is to help you craft an engaging and interesting story about the events of your life not a report.