Let's talk about the ways we

capture the speech of other people. Dialogue is usually made up. We may recall the
shapes of arguments and
interactions or the key turning points and
insights in a discussion. But it's unreasonable and
a little silly, really, to pretend that we have remembered,
at length, conversations verbatim. The reader understands, or at least
should, that the best the memoirs can do is approximate conversations we've had or
been party to in the past. Include dialogue not to document
anyone's testimony, but to give the reader a sense
of how people interact. Their mannerisms and habits of speech. In addition to
quoting, you can also
approach dialogue through summary and paraphrase. Think back to our discussion of
diegesis
and the extra diagetical frame. We can say that quoting takes us into
diegesis, into the memory itself. But much of what we recall
about what people say or have said to us long ago can be relayed in
the frame through summary and paraphrase. A statement like, my father would always
tell me to keep a dollar in my pocket. This is a statement that comes from frame.
Or I remember how she used to cuss
whenever she lost her patience. We don't need to hear
exactly what was said, it's taken care of
efficiently in the frame. When the specific wording is important, or when you want
to give the reader
an example of the pace and style of someone's way of speaking,
you can take us into the specific memory, where we can hear the person for
ourselves. But if you're making a point that
doesn't have to do with what someone says specifically,
you can give us that quickly and efficiently through summary and
paraphrase. We've covered a slew of really fundamental
questions that you might want to ask yourself before you begin and
as you're writing your memoir. Remember, these questions can
come in handy to use as prompts. Whether you're in the genitive stage
of just getting things down on paper or screen to work with later, or
if you're in the revision stage, where you're refining the work to
find an overall theme or focus. The answers to these questions don't
have to be shared with the reader, not necessarily. In most cases it's a good idea
to explore,
for instance, the biases built into the relationship you
have with the family members you choose to write about, or your relationship
to a particular event in your past. But the results of those explorations
are primarily important to you in your writing process. Behind the scenes, so to
speak. It's up to you whether or not you want to
make that work explicit to the reader. Thanks so much for
your attention and participation. Of course,
we've barely scratched the surface here. But I hope what we've covered so
far helps you situate yourself in a way that feels comfortable and
true to you and your project. You have so much more to discover
in the lectures that come. Just remember,
there are no hard and fast rules, stay open to surprises, and
above all, keep writing.