Letter to a First-Time Peace Corps Writer

No matter who you are, sitting down to a blank page to try and tell the story of your life can be daunting. But I’m here to reassure you that, as a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, you have a great story to tell. The key question is where to start.

Jacques Barzun, an accomplished writer and historian who taught at Columbia University, wrote that to become a writer you have to convince yourself that you are working in clay, not marble; on paper, not eternal bronze, so let that first sentence be as stupid as it wishes. Just put it down, then another. Your whole first paragraph or first page may have to be guillotined after your piece is finished, but there can be no second paragraph (which contains your true beginning) until you have a first.

From there, all you have to do is mine your own experiences. Begin your book with a compelling first impression of your life as a Volunteer, your first day overseas, your first egregious mistake, and use that anecdote to slide into your story. Write about your daily experiences, the surprises you had, and what you know now that you didn’t know in those first days and weeks abroad. Be honest about your mistakes, the funny and embarrassing ones, the ones you learned from. Write about the help you gave to others, and the people you came to know and to care about.

Whatever you do, remember to detail your emotions, your feelings, because this is what readers connect with. You are writing “creative nonfiction”, also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction, a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as academic or technical writing, or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact but is not written to entertain.

The goal is to make nonfiction stories read like fiction so that your readers are as enthralled by fact as they are by fantasy.

The word “creative” has been criticized in this context because some people have maintained that being creative means that you pretend or exaggerate or make up facts and embellish details. This is completely incorrect. It is possible to be honest and straightforward and brilliant and creative at the same time.

“Creative” doesn’t mean inventing what didn’t happen, or reporting and describing what wasn’t there. It doesn’t mean that the writer has a license to lie. The cardinal rule is clear — and cannot be violated. This is the pledge the writer makes to the reader — the maxim we live by, the anchor of creative nonfiction: “You can’t make this stuff up!”

What you have to realize is that your story is the Peace Corps story. Generations from now, when historians ask, “what was the Peace Corps?” they will turn to what you wrote in your book. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, you have a corner on American history. Tell your story so future generations will see how you as a PCV made a difference in the world.

John Coyne’s tips for new writers

Pick a time and place where you will write every day, and set a goal for how many words you’ll write. If you write four pages a day, 250 words a page, you’ll have produced a 240-page manuscript in 60 days. It may still need a lot of work, but you’ll have something meaningful to work with.
Don’t wait until you “feel like writing.” Just write!
Turn off distractions, such as emails and the evening news.
Begin each day by rereading and editing what you wrote the day before.
End every writing session in mid-sentence or mid-paragraph so you will have an easier time starting to write the next day (an old Hemingway trick).
Finish your book before beginning to rewrite it.
Remember that all writing is rewriting. Keep rewriting and editing.
create a story line. You were one person when you arrived overseas; you were someone else when you left for home after your Peace Corps service.