Courage Is Grace Under Pressure (Ernest Hemingway)

Think of yourself as a big game hunter.

Not the rugged steel-eyed type in a 4WD Landcruiser; 40 gallon tank full of fuel, bolt action repeating rifle with telescopic sights, and the open savannah where predator meets prey.

Not the well-heeled trophy hunter with a protective backup of scouts, driver, and extra artillery. No.

Mrs. Nixon of Twin Island, c.1910. Photo courtesy Museum at Campbell River, #5444.

I’m talking about your great-great-great+ hunter-gatherer ancestor who ran down antelope bare footed, spear in hand, and mostly naked. The one who had to rely entirely on embodied physical, mental and spiritual resources to sustain the steady pace that would eventually exhaust the prey whose speed and power couldn’t outlast a focused human being who just kept going.

Writing memoir, history, or biography is also a feat of stamina and distance. First you have to observe the environment; prepare and attune to the elements, learn to read the clues, track footprints of ancestors; assess the climate and check the direction of the wind.

You may already have a compelling theme, an entertaining cast of characters, and boxes bulging with journals, photographs, jottings, memories, observations, interviews and conversations – gleanings from those who went before. This is all good – better than good.

Perhaps you have a well-established practice of life writing. You know your stuff and you have a vision for it. The possibilities are endless…

And that, dear writer, is exactly why we need to rein in some to get you ready for the journey. There is work to do before we enter the territory of story. There will be exercises that yield well-considered work, questions that probe the role of environment and context, the search for thematic universality. There will be questions of voice and point of view and truth and compassion. “Truth and compassion,” you say. “What’s that got to do with it?”

Never underestimate the way you touch others’ lives. Your writing, whether it’s shared with family and friends or with a wider audience, will touch people’s lives. That’s where truth and compassion come into the process.

Until next time…

Annette Yourk.