Right now a lot is going on in my
book, but some of the things that have stuck out to me the most are the little
details. I think that a lot of details in my book were in fact very much
exaggerated, and I think that almost gives the story more humor and/or makes it
more serious. The fact that she remembers the look and feel of the room or what
she was doing before the incident , although that may not have been exactly
what she was doing or sensing, gives the reader a sort of false feeing of just
how scarring the event was. Not that that is bad but rather the opposite, as a
reader, hearing all the details leading up to some major event in an author’s
life exaggerates not only the little details, but the entire situation as well,
which is what you want as a writer.
I think this is key because when I have
to write my memoir I will have to use details to exaggerate things such as in
my book. One of the hardest part of writing my memoir will be having to give
details about the little things, less that describing made up things will be hard
but more describing the things in a way that doesn’t bore the reader half to
death. So basically I have to find a way to strike some sort of middle ground
because either my life is very bland or no one wants to continue reading my memoir
because they are so bored by all my extra details. Anyway this assignment will
be really interesting for me because it will probably actually be horrible but
at the same time a great learning experience because I will hopefully learn how
the establish this middle ground in writing details and that will help me with
future writing assignments.
I love how you managed to focus on the small details while still seeing the big picture of the novel. Often, people will get too caught up on the details to remember the big picture, or vice versa: they notice the big picture but fail to recognize the details. The way you related this to your memoir was also nice--including details but not boring the reader with too many.
ReplyDeleteYour views on exaggeration are very interesting Katherine. I certainly agree that exaggeration is a key point in a memoir, and a good literary device to use. Small details in a passage can often be the source of a major event in the book, especially in a mystery. When writing any book other than a memoir, I would advise to not exaggerate the little details, to keep things subtle and intelligent. However, in a memoir there is no reason for buildup or secrecy, so stressing the little things that impacted our lives would make a very descriptive memoir.
ReplyDeleteI think this is really good how you were able to pick apart the way the wrote the memware. i will definitely try to use some of these techniques in writing my own personal memware. I also think that sometimes you just have to step back and look at the big picture and make sure everything is in order. good job!
ReplyDeleteReally nice blog entry Katherine. I like to see how we both had an interest. In the word choice of the authors description of people, places, or things. I feel my author organized his book in the same way. He tended to describe the place he's at. To make it more obvious to the of how he felt at the moment.
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