Photo by Portrenk
Real Prison Real Freedom is a detailed narration about one of the most dangerous inmates, Rickie Smith. While it’s not his story to tell, Rosser McDonald managed to write it perfectly, capturing Rickie’s identity in only a couple of pages.
Stories aren’t just a form of entertainment. They’re also highly significant in society as it helps people connect and share information. Everyone has stories to tell, those that are filled with lessons and wisdom for others to learn from. People are storytellers in nature. Hence, these stories are bound to be written or told and passed from one generation to another.
Life is filled with countless fascinating circumstances that are only waiting to be experienced and turned into stories people either speak of or write about. This can be about their personal experiences or those they shared with others. For some, this can even be the experience of another.
Penning Another’s Story
Most authors write about their lives. Memoirs are one of the most common genres published yearly in the market. It’s become a ritual for authors to write about their personal lives before branching out into writing fiction. After all, if there’s a story that’s the easiest for them to write, it should be what they’re most familiar with.
On the other hand, other authors don’t go by this norm. While it’s undoubtedly recommended that authors put their pen where they’re most familiar, others prefer to tread uncharted waters. Instead of writing about their personal experiences, they write about others, uncovering and discussing others’ lives and vulnerabilities over their own.
A few authors managed to do this, making it their niche. The genius behind this isn’t about the challenge of writing something unknown. It’s about sharing a story they believe is significant and inspiring enough when nobody has stepped forward to do it.
Author Rosser McDonald took one for the team when he wrote his book Real Prison Real Freedom. This book stands as a memoir, but not of his own experiences.
Real Prison Real Freedom chronicles the life of an inmate he met while working on a prison documentary. Rickie Smith, the book’s main character, is said to be the most dangerous and notorious man in Texas Prison. However, this status changed when he fell in love with God and Christianity.
His story is unlike any other and inspiring at its finest. Therefore, the question isn’t whether McDonald’s book is worth reading. Instead, it’s about how Rosser McDonald did it.
The Hows of It
Writing another’s story is tough simply because authors can’t be careless about it. They have various elements to consider before picking their pen and drafting. Here are some:
Pick a Narrator
Who will be telling the story?
While this story is another person’s experience, authors can choose who will narrate the events. This is a significant decision since the narrator will determine from whose perspective the story will take place.
For instance, in Real Prison Real Freedom, Rosser McDonald chose to write the book in a third-person perspective. This means the story unravels from the audience’s standpoint, a stranger to his story.
McDonald could have chosen another inmate as a narrator, and the book would have taken a new turn. Instead of being a complete outsider, the inmate can give his opinion about Rickie and share how the other inmates view the latter.
Conduct an Interview
Non-fiction writers heavily depend on research and interviews to make accurate material. The interview is an incredibly crucial part of writing in this genre. Since every detail written in the story is from another’s experiences, authors should learn about what they went through. This can be achieved by doing an interview.
Make a List
Once the interview process is done, the output would be far from the final result authors want. Hence, it will be helpful for them to create a list of what they want to be discussed in their book. This will help form the skeleton of their book. Additionally, when authors make a detailed list planning how they want the book to turn out, they may also come up with more questions they could have missed in their initial interview.
Write
Once everything has been gathered and fact-checked, the last thing authors must do is write. Create a story that won’t only make the author and the main character proud but will also leave a beautiful impact on the world. Authors write not only for the sake of publishing a book. Their final output should have a purpose, and they should write to fulfill this.
