On memoirs

“I dislike modern memoirs.
They are generally written by people who have either entirely lost their memories,
or have never done anything worth remembering.”
Oscar Wilde

You know, I’ve been thinking about writing a memoir for a long time. It occurred to me after I read Helen Fielding’s delightful books about Bridget Jones. I’ve been keeping a diary for the last three years or so. I wrote diaries from time to time prior to that, but nothing really remains in any location that I’ll ever find it again.

Here’s why I like this idea. In spite of the warning from several sources that autobiographies can be drivelous works of completely boring piffle, I would like to recollect my own story. I know the plot to this one! That’s always my downfall, plotting. I think it would also help to think about the context in which I live my life. You know, they say that you write who you are, no matter what you think. If you have a wretched childhood, you can’t help but allow that to color your work. Not that my childhood was wretched (I mean, there were moments).

What do I remember? What do I allow to color my work? I was thinking it might be interesting (not necessarily fun) and instructive to go through previous journal entries and read about my progression over the last few years. What might be my developments? What are patterns that are sticking?

How can I use this information to better understand myself and my writing goals?

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts