One problem I think authors encounter when they are writing memoirs is not remembering all the details. Usually authors’ memoirs begin in their early childhood so they have to remember moments that occurred 20-30 years ago. To fill in the blanks, they have to make up things and exaggerate moments. This must be hard, I know if I did that I would feel guilty for lying. You would also have to limit yourself on how much you lie because you don’t want your book to be considered fiction. Another problem authors may experience is a fear to share personal things. A memoir is similar to a diary, it tells how the author is feeling and describes moments in their life that impacted them in a certain way. To write, and then publish, many of your inner thoughts and things you went through must be incredibly difficult. You’re basically telling strangers everything about yourself, the good moments and the bad. I think these are problems I will struggle with when I have to write my own memoir. I have a terrible memory so remembering things will be difficult. Choosing important memories to write about will also be difficult because I’m going to have to rack my brain on how I felt in each moment, what was the effect afterwards, and all the small details I’ll have to write about to make the moments more interesting. I predict opening up will be a struggle as well because some important moments may feel too personal or embarrassing to write about. In the memoir I’m reading, The Glass Castle, I assume the author, Jeannette Walls, probably went through a similar struggle when she was writing her memoir. She might have felt embarrassed to write about her parents, since she said she felt ashamed to be their daughter in the beginning of the book. It must have been hard to revisit painful childhood memories as well, like when Walls' parents were violently fighting in front of her and her siblings.
You did a great job! I love how you connected what you were reading to your topic question you chose. I am reading the same book as you and have noticed the same type of problem in the book. If I were writing a memoir I won't remember too and i would definitely over exaggerate. Good work so far.
ReplyDeleteI feel differently.
ReplyDeleteLying, and lying convincingly is the most important part of a memoir. Because the way you lie, the way you fabricate and pretend reveals more about you than the truth ever could.
Knowing things about a person does not mean you know them. You know a person by the way they talk and move and lie. It is more important in a memoir to lie the way you do than to tell the truth as if you were someone else.