Tucker Max's Best Selling Secret
The above video gets right into Tucker Max and his point of view on writing. His number one rule for writing is simple: tell the truth.
Authenticity is what brings readers in.
People want to read books (and screenplays) that they feel are authentic and that they can connect with on a personal and emotional level that feels real.
Memoirs Are Therapeutic Journeys
Writing a memoir can be a powerful form of therapy. You're digging into your own emotions and trying to understand your life story.
Tucker identifies two main reasons people write memoirs: to tell their story for therapeutic reasons or to leave a legacy.
I think screenwriting has a lot in common with that. We should be sharing part of ourselves, and we should be trying to connect with an audience.
Writing from a Place of Healing
A key piece of advice from Tucker is to write from your scars, not your wounds.
This means processing your trauma before you write about it.
Once you understand it, you can authentically talk about it and also show a full character arc and journey through the turmoil.
His POV is that you should journal every day to keep track of these emotions, or at least write down the feeling you had and why you felt that way. Hindsight helps to pull all of that together.
Structuring Your Memoir
Finding the way to structure your book is really important. You want to figure out what part of your life to focus on, and in fiction, you want to figure out what parts of those fictitious events need to be highlighted.
Now, you can’t tell your entire life story in one book, but many people have multiple memoirs within them, so narrowing the focus can significantly improve the writing.
Once you know what you want to write about, the structure often becomes clear.
But try different things and don't be afraid to experiment.
Tucker's Storytelling Algorithm
If you're having trouble putting together your story, you may want to use Tucker's way of breaking it open.
He says you ask, "What happened? How did you feel? What happened next?"
This helps you see the connections between events and emotions, creating a more engaging narrative for the reader.
Finding Your Unique Voice
Wrapped up in all of this is something we talk about all the time on here: the idea that your unique voice needs to break through.
Don't worry about trying to sound fancy or adhering to strict writing conventions. If you tell your truth, it’s impossible to write an unoriginal memoir.
Your life is singular to you, and if you tell the truth, it can connect with someone else.
Overcoming Writer's Block
Even seasoned writers like Tucker get stuck. He shared a personal story about how committing to writing with a group helped him overcome writer's block and gave him deadlines he needed to hit.
The big piece of advice is that it's okay to take breaks and that rough drafts are often messy and imperfect.
All writing is rewriting.
Summing It All Up
Writing a memoir is a journey of self-discovery. It’s about more than just putting words on a page; it’s about understanding your own story and sharing it with the world.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
