When first approaching the idea of writing our memoir, says acclaimed poet, memoirist, and playwright Nick Flynn, we often write what we believe is our unique autobiography—but as we press on, we discover that our story is connected to everyone's story, and only then can we access the deeper mysteries of life.
Under Flynn's guidance, we look for those moments when we begin to stutter and stumble when talking about our projects, and then push more deeply into the shadows of our misremembered past. We wrestle with these deeper mysteries, as well as the concept of bewilderment, and how we can embody both in our memoirs—through syntax, our access to the duende, leaps into the unconscious, or simply circling around what is unsaid, unknown, and unrealized.
Be willing to push deeper into this shadow world and be open to question why you tell the particular stories about your life that you do.
