Memoirs: A Complex Genre by Linda Kovic-Skow
Memoirs - A Complex Genre
By Linda Kovic-Skow
I have to admit writing French Illusions was a lot more complex than I initially imagined
it would be. My diary offered a great outline, but I realized early on
that I would have to change the names of people and places in my story to
protect identities. This was especially true with regards to my host au pair
family. Acquiring permission from them was out of the question. Totally out of
the question. I mean it. Read my book and you'll understand. Additionally, over
thirty years had passed since I spoke with anyone I'd met in France. I no longer had any
contact information for them.
With
this in mind, I researched common French names that might fit my characters. I
tried them out and retained the ones that were a good match. A handful required
more effort. Choosing a name for my main love interest, Adam, was difficult
because it had to be plausible in both Morocco and France. Songais, the name I
chose for the town had to sound French, but it couldn’t mimic any others in the
region. My biggest challenge, was finding a name for the family's chateau in France. I knew this term
would be repeated over and over again and it had to be perfect. In my hometown
of Kirkland, there is an old apartment building called
"Mont Clare" just off of State Street. I never thought
about it much until one day, during a walk with the dog, I glanced at the
building, and it clicked. That's it, I thought. I'll call it the Chateau de
Mont Clare. I loved the way this name rolled off my tongue. During a rewrite,
my editor convinced me to alter the spelling to Château de Montclair, but the
pronunciation remained the same.
Other
decisions haunted me during the writing process. From the beginning, I struggled with how much French to incorporate into the story and whether
or not to include translations. My editors gave me guidance here. We decided to
keep most of the French and bring in translations only when it was absolutely necessary
to the story line. Another challenge was finding data from 1979 on the Loire Valley, the Loire River and the town of Tours. It took hundreds of internet
searches and numerous travel books to supply this information. The most
challenging dilemma of all was how much detail to include in my own love scenes?
Wiping the sweat off my brow, I wrote and then rewrote these scenes until I could
read them without squirming in my seat.
As you can see, writing French
Illusions was challenging on many levels. It took three years and incalculable
hours to complete my memoir, but I'm pleased with the result. I hope my readers
agree.
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You can visit her website at www.lindakovicskow.com.
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