Mary Karr • The Art of Memoir

the narrative voice The voice that tells the story is the first thing the reader encounters. It carries us from the first page to the last. We, the readers, must believe in this narrative voice or, at least, we must feel strongly for that voice and have a definite and consistent opinion about it.

Storytellers have a superpower. They can make people feel good and whole and right. They can inspire and inform. They can make people see the world in a new way. They can make people feel better about themselves.

‘Sometimes, it is more important to hear how a story is told than what the story is.’

A story is a frank, intimate conversation between equals. We keep reading because we continue to feel respected by the writer. We feel her, over there on the production end of the process, imagining that we are as intelligent and worldly and curious as she is. Because she’s paying attention to where we are (to where she’s put us), she knows when we

Storytellers have a superpower. They can make people feel good and whole and right. They can inspire and inform. They can make people see the world in a new way. They can make people feel better about themselves.

Whenever you can center a story around people, do it. People Magazine is the world’s most popular magazine for a reason: people want to hear about people

Great storytellers don’t just focus on a central character, but also a central reader.

character is the vehicle through which a reader engages with a story.