How Will Smith’s Memoir Inspired Me To Become A Better Writer
Image credit — Will Smith — Instagram
I grew up watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with my siblings. I wouldn’t have called myself a big Will Smith fan back then, but I liked and respected his work.
I never would have thought that I would be completely floored by the goofy Fresh Prince.
I stumbled upon Episode 1 of Best Shape of My Life on YouTube and after seeing his authenticity, I quickly realised that I needed to read Will Smith’s memoir.
As a writer, this book gave me the “Wow, I need to keep this in mind for when I’m writing. How can I evoke this same feeling from my readers?” feeling.
From the very beginning of this book, Will captured all of my attention as he told the story about The Wall. I really liked this as it was not a traditional introduction such as: “When I was a kid, blah blah blah.” There was no fluff. This wasn’t even Chapter 1.
How is there a chapter BEFORE the first chapter that isn’t titled Introduction, Forward or Preface? Will Smith titled his pre-Chapter 1 chapter, “The Wall”.
As I listened to this book and when I finished, I had accumulated so many moments of speechlessness. It’s a good thing I wasn’t the narrator! Will kept things so real and interesting throughout each chapter.
Image credit — Will Smith — Instagram
In this memoir, Will Smith took me through every inch of his mind as he lived his life. This memoir is a powerful example of authenticity. It’s pure. Will allowed himself to be open and vulnerable. Listening to him talk about his life for 16 hours and 16 minutes was just not enough. I tried not to look at the time remaining as I didn’t want it to end. I was not ready to let go of the thrill of listening to these stories. His narration was exquisite. I felt like he was telling these stories only to me over a super huge cup of coffee, or now with COVID, on an incredibly long voice note.
5 Lessons from WILL
Be Open, Authentic & True
Nothing was held back. I felt how he threw himself into each word of each story. I believed what he said. Will Smith’s thinking is unendingly profound and beautiful. His imagination is his power.
Be Entertaining
When Will narrated the voices of others, he added in all inflections, tones, and subtleties of each person’s voice. He was the master of reaching the highs of excitement and lows of the sincerity of a person.
Teach Your Reader
Will Smith taught me things I didn’t know about hip-hop and the music industry.
Make Space For Your Reader
This memoir isn’t a descriptive essay, and Will was not excessive with the adjectives to describe the surroundings, but I was a fly on the wall in every scene. I felt invited and included.
Make It An Adventure & Have A Strong, Solid Narrative
The entire book is an adventure of Will Smith’s experiences. I felt like I had an all-access, unlimited day pass to all events of his life. There was nothing left out. Not even the Jada story.
There was not one moment where I felt uninterested in his story. I was always eager to learn what happened next. I cannot think of anything else that this memoir needed. I will not think of it because that’ll just be useless. I am, however, looking forward to continuing to follow Will’s story.
This is a book that you can gift to anyone, even if they’re not a fan of Will Smith or memoirs.
This is a book that I’m itching to listen to again, but I’m trying to give new ones a chance.
This is a book that you will think about late at night.
I can never not contribute to a discussion when someone mentions the name “Will Smith” again.
“WILL” is the absolute best memoir that I have listened to/read.
Overall Rating: 5/5
