Tuesday 20 October 2009

Memoir musings.

Why don't I write on this blog? Why don't I write in a journal? Why don't I write copious pages of witty social commentary, or thoughtful reflections, or a novel???

These questions have plagued me over the course of my life so far and I've not yet found the answer.

My latest inspiration is to write some memoirs. Iain recommended this to me when I declined his invitation to attend a coffee/breakfast experience with him, by saying that it would be like "being stabbed in the thigh with a compass, but without the compass, and without the stabbing".

I thought "Memoirs! sounds like sophisticated and linguistically-related fun". So here I am. On my blog (which was not created at all for this purpose - sorry loyal readers! please allow me a this ephemeral self-indulgence...). Ready to write some memoirs!

But where to start? I have so many questions! (e.g. what is a memoir?)
I looked them up on the interwebs and found an informative website to act as my guide (Inkspell memoir website http://inkspell.homestead.com/memoir.html).

To orient myself appropriately toward the trajectory of memoir excellence, I decided to reflect on the definition that the website had to give...

Definition of Memoir
A memoir is a piece of autobiographical writing, usually shorter in nature than a comprehensive autobiography (OK! So far so good...). The memoir, especially as it is being used in publishing today, often tries to capture certain highlights or meaningful moments in one's past, often including a contemplation of the meaning of that event at the time of the writing of the memoir (Meaningful events? Doubts forming...).. The memoir may be more emotional and concerned with capturing particular scenes, or a series of events, rather than documenting every fact of a person's life (Sweet action...).

It just sounds so EASY!
However, I lack meaningful moments from my past.
So I will have to think about this before I write embark on the memoir journey.
Ideas welcome.

1 comment:

  1. I'm almost finished reading a memoir book right now... I'll lend it to you... it is a lovely set of essays interwoven with memories and recipes..and no she is not a mathematician...that's all that is lacking...

    Also you could do something fun and colossal and right about it as you do it or after... eg: Run a marathon and write a book cf: "Short fat chick to marathon runner" - Kerre Woodham

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