How Jennifer Lang turned a "boring" 90K-word book into a 14K-word gem...& got her groove back

Today’s episode features my interview with Jennifer Lang. Her memoir, Places We Left Behind, is a marvel of brevity and form. It’s the story of how one woman, a hybrid of American-French-Israeli identities, navigates cultural and religious differences with her husband over the course of three decades, as her family searches for what it means to find a sense of home.

In our interview, Jennifer shares how she transformed a “long-winded, boring, and flat” 90,000-word draft into a concise and sharp 14,000-word memoir told through a fragmented structure—what she’s calling a “memoir-in-miniature.” She also addresses the critical feedback from a developmental editor, which helped her uncover an innovative structure.

Finally, we talk about writing about other”: the emotional and creative negotiations involved in writing about her husband and their marriage, revealing how this process has both challenged and strengthened their relationship.

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"I had a very traditional manuscript of over 90,000 words when all was said and done. And it was really long-winded and boring and flat, and I hated it...I hired a developmental editor who gave me a lot of feedback. And one of the last things she said was, put it away for a while. Just let all of this sink in. And I think that was the best advice she gave me."

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Transformation Through Editing: Jennifer Lang's journey from a 90,000-word manuscript to a 14,000-word concise and effective memoir underscores the fact that it can take time to figure out to figure out your story, and that brevity can be a crucial factor to remember.

Cultural Identity and Belonging: The memoir reflects Jennifer's complex relationship with her Jewish identity and her experiences living in California, France, and Israel.

Marriage and Memoir Writing: Writing about others is one of the most fraught areas of memoir for a reason. And writing about intimate relationships requires especially careful consideration. In Jennifer’s case, it ended up unexpectedly strengthening the bond with her husband.

Innovative Structure & Form: The fragmented, playful structure of Jennifer's memoir, with elements like strike-throughs and “chapterettes” as she likes to call them, adds a unique layer of engagement and depth to her storytelling.

Literary Community Engagement: Jennifer's work with the Israel Writer Studio highlights the importance of community in a place with fewer English-language writers.

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"The level of pain, trauma, loss is so beyond. I don't know how we're going to get out of it." —about the impact of Oct 7, 2023 on the Israeli psyche

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NOTABLE QUOTES

"I have been writing around it for years, if not decades. I have been writing about longing, belonging, culture, language, community, other, and home. In short, in long, in essay, in short, memoir, in flash. I just kept going around and around and finally had time to figure out how to get through it." (0:02:50)

"I really feel like the story of me bouncing between cultures starts way back. Like kindergarten way back." (0:03:46)

"I think that when we write long or when we write without any kind of constraint, we are lazy with our word choice. And so putting the constraint on makes a writer understand that every word counts." (0:21:16)

"If you're going to reveal a character's underbelly, you have to reveal your own. If you're going to fault a character for their flaw, you have to do the same for yourself." (0:24:01)

"I think I did anything but make him a villain. I think in the end, it's like a love letter." (0:24:41)

ABOUT TODAY'S GUEST

Jennifer Lang was born in the San Francisco Bay Area, lives in Tel Aviv, and runs Israel Writers Studio. Her essays have appeared in the Baltimore Review, Crab Orchard Review, Under the Sun, Ascent, Consequence , and elsewhere. A Pushcart Prize and Best American Essays nominee, she holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and serve as Assistant Editor for Brevity.

She is the author of the memoir Places We Left Behind. Her forthcoming memoir Landed: A Yogi's Memoir in Pieces and Poses, will be published by Vine Leaves Press in October 2024. Building off themes explored in her first memoir, Landed spans seven years (and then some), each punctuated with chakra wisdom from nationally-acclaimed Rodney Yee, her first teacher.

LINKS

Jennifer Lang at the Israel Writer Studio

Places We Left Behind: A Memoir-in-Miniature

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