Monday, November 17, 2008
Writing an interesting memoir
I'm not sure if anyone else is worried about this, it may just be me, but does anyone else feel like they don't have anything interesting to write about? My life has been quite uninteresting in my opinion, probably many other people's opinions as well. I know that I could find something moderately interesting to write about and write in such a way as to make it enjoyable to read, but then there's still translating that to the graphic format which is a whole other worry. I can describe something in a way that is funny or interesting, but coming up with something from my life that would look good in pictures? That sounds like a stretch. I realize that there's writing to accompany the graphics, but I'd rather not have to rely solely upon the writing to make an interesting graphic memoir. It would be nice if I had some memory that lent itself to images. Sadly, it seems that eighteen years hasn't been quite enough for me to have accumulated any graphic worthy experiences.
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4 comments:
I don't know. I think some of the most interesting things i like to hear from people are the things that they think are bland and boring. What was your house like when you were growing up? How did your parents divide up responsibility? How were you punished when you were bad and when did you reach that age when you realized you could actually leave your room and the force field wouldn't hold you in? When I go to bed at night, I will not get out of bed for anything. I feel like it must have been something my parents ingrained in my head, but i never remember being punished for getting out of bed. So what makes me at 20 not leave my bed at night. I have no idea, but it definitely makes for a funny story especially when one of my roommates this summer broke into my room and started peeing in my closet because he was drunk. I literally was glued to my bed. Would not get up.
Also dorm life always has interesting twists and turns. Putting all of that drama and nonsense in a memoir would probably create something more intriguing than a reality tv show...lol. Hope that helps.
idk what to write about. I know I don't want to write about something sad or depressing, but I'm not sure I want it to be funny either. I want to find some sort of balance. It's going to be difficult.
I wouldn't worry about the tone of your memoir just yet, Linda. Strive to find something that interests you. A song. A moment. Anything, really and then go from there. Worry about tone later.
And, Ian, I'm sure you have plenty to write about. You could write about magic! Or you could write about just being you: an odd moment in your past, a family holiday, a trip. That's the beauty of memoir...you really can write about anything.
If you continue to have problems figuring what to write about, try to do some brainstorming exercises. Draw your hometown out on paper (it doesn't have to look good) and see if that sparks anything. Write about your favorite place. Do a character profile of a friend or family member. And don't forget to check out CTW for more ideas!
I don't think the key to writing an interesting memoir is in having lots of thrilling events or characters as the focus. I think that what makes a memoir truly interesting is the voice of the writer. If, as a reader, I feel I can connect to the writer's thoughts and experiences, whether they are like my own or even interesting to me outside of the work of writing, I think the memoir is a success. A good memoir does not need to be filled with drugs, tragedy, hilarious mishaps, and so on. In my opinion, it just needs to be filled with honesty and a sincere caring for the subject matter, however insignificant that subject may seem.
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