Sacred Defense Memoir Writing Training Course Held
According to the correspondent of the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) in Ardabil, this two-day training course was held at Fatahi Historical House with the presence of a group of writers from Ardabil province, by the efforts of the Ardabil Art Center. Participants became familiar with new memoir writing techniques and methods with the presence of the author and director of the Office of Art and Literature of Captivity.
Sasan Nategh, a writer in the field of resistance literature, stated in this training session while outlining the structure of narrative writing: “Today, change is the most important principle in starting documentary writing in the field of Sacred Defense literature, because today’s audience is intelligent and exposed to various information. To attract this audience, who have no knowledge of the imposed war period, one must write in a language that is appealing to them.”
The author of the book “Brothers of the Forgotten Castle” named the narrator’s mastery of Sacred Defense history, credibility, and adherence to rules as other structures of narrative writing, stating: “Some narrators, due to old age and the passage of time, sometimes make mistakes. For example, operations four and five, due to their proximity in time and location, confuse the narrator. Here, the documentarian must be intelligent and guide the narrative towards accuracy and precision to prevent problems for the narrator’s character in the future.”
Nategh also cited the memoirist’s keen insight, good observation, and good listening as another factor in producing an attractive work, adding: “In writing, one must also be careful that the statements are consistent with the narrator’s tone, age, and literacy. When a teenage Basiji is the narrator, they will undoubtedly never speak above their age level, or an elderly female narrator will recount her memories in a motherly way.”
The director of the Office of Art and Literature of Captivity continued: “The Sacred Defense writer must pay attention to honoring the family in their writings, because a fighter was raised within a family with their own customs, traditions, and religious culture, and went to the front. The writer should include topics about family, neighborhood, and life in their narratives. This, in addition to adding tenderness to the writing, gives it a regional flavor.”
The author of the novel “Men of Enayat Alley” stated that a memoir writer, in addition to studying numerous books, must also be familiar with the techniques and elements of stories and novels, saying: “In narrating characters’ faces, their language and dialect are important. These elements add beauty and freshness to the prose and better immerse the reader in that atmosphere.”
Nategh also listed moving within the orbit of hope and demonstrating sacredness as other structures of narrative writing, stating: “On the front, there was not always war and violence; hope and life also flowed. The writer must extract glimmers of hope and joy from memories and include them in their text. The sacredness of the work and characters should be shown through imagery instead of merely stated, so that the audience understands this sacredness themselves.”
He also mentioned writing a suitable introduction without exaggeration or formal and philosophical speeches, chaptering the memoir book without irrelevant titles, avoiding multiple names and types, and providing footnotes only as needed without distracting the reader, as other important factors in a memoir book.
