Book Discussion & Carnal Writing

In this session of the Writers CAFÉ, we answered our Life Writers’ questions and focused on chapter six of The Art of Memoir, “Sacred Carnality,” specifically the question below.

How do you interpret Mary Karr’s chapter six, “Sacred Carnality”? Do you agree with the necessity of “physical clarity” in your stories? How do you accomplish this?

In this video:

00:01:58 - Creating balance, making writing a priority among all our other priorities

00:10:48 - Chapter 9 of "The Art of Memoir" - discussion of what holds a book together

00:23:22 - Letting go of what you think you "should" do

00:26:31 - Use of "embellishment" in memoir, creating trust

00:35:50 - Carnality in writing, chapter 6 of "The Art of Memoir"

00:36:50 - Sensual details in prologue of "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmerelda Santiago

00:41:15 - Obtaining details through research

00:46:02 - Plagiarism tools, checks

00:48:55 - Securing source information

00:51:17 - Over-dramatizing a story

01:00:25 - Upcoming events

Lessons in this Course: