“Remove thoughts that would manipulate the reader, but keep thoughts that are unkind, immature, or that I’m embarrassed to admit.”
Charlie, I keep going back to our last zoom where we talked about thoughts and your pondering the question of thoughts in memoir.
I had the thought (pun intended!) after reading this essay and the quote above, that thoughts are one way we “connect” as writers to readers, and readers to writers. Our stories contain information, facts, plot lines, etc, and thoughts and feelings, are yet another form of information. Intimate information the author can use, not to manipulate, but to amplify and deepen.
Maybe I’m just saying this because so most of what I write have my thoughts marbled throughout and I hope it’s OK and doesn’t turn readers off!
James, my first reaction to your comment was, Yes! Of course of course of course our thoughts contain intimate information that the author can use, not to manipulate, but to amplify and deepen. Yes!
I suppose I could boil down my stance to something like, Include only thoughts that are interesting. But what are interesting thoughts? And how do we know if they’re interesting? What I am doing here, when I read and study memoirs, is I pay attention to which parts make me lean in and which parts make me turn away. When I get very granular about it—which for me is necessary if I want to actually implement what I learn into my own writing—I notice very specific things the writer does that either works or doesn’t. (For me! Of course this is subjective, right? Is it?)
Often, when writers include their thoughts, those thoughts are so obvious and boring. The writer is NOT treating their reader like a genius. If I were to write a newsletter that said, “Only write your most interesting thoughts,” I don’t see how helpful that would be. But if I write that when you include thoughts, keep in the ones that are unkind, immature, or that you’re embarrassed to admit, that gives you something tangible to experiment with in your writing. And I feel confident in that advice. And I have these amazing examples that I can point to!
The final thing I always like to remember is that memoir is never about you. It’s about how the reader can see themselves in your story. If you are constantly sharing your thoughts and feelings it does not allow space for the reader to connect and relate to your story. Sometimes the story speaks for itself.
“Remove thoughts that would manipulate the reader, but keep thoughts that are unkind, immature, or that I’m embarrassed to admit.”
Charlie, I keep going back to our last zoom where we talked about thoughts and your pondering the question of thoughts in memoir.
I had the thought (pun intended!) after reading this essay and the quote above, that thoughts are one way we “connect” as writers to readers, and readers to writers. Our stories contain information, facts, plot lines, etc, and thoughts and feelings, are yet another form of information. Intimate information the author can use, not to manipulate, but to amplify and deepen.
Maybe I’m just saying this because so most of what I write have my thoughts marbled throughout and I hope it’s OK and doesn’t turn readers off!
James, my first reaction to your comment was, Yes! Of course of course of course our thoughts contain intimate information that the author can use, not to manipulate, but to amplify and deepen. Yes!
I suppose I could boil down my stance to something like, Include only thoughts that are interesting. But what are interesting thoughts? And how do we know if they’re interesting? What I am doing here, when I read and study memoirs, is I pay attention to which parts make me lean in and which parts make me turn away. When I get very granular about it—which for me is necessary if I want to actually implement what I learn into my own writing—I notice very specific things the writer does that either works or doesn’t. (For me! Of course this is subjective, right? Is it?)
Often, when writers include their thoughts, those thoughts are so obvious and boring. The writer is NOT treating their reader like a genius. If I were to write a newsletter that said, “Only write your most interesting thoughts,” I don’t see how helpful that would be. But if I write that when you include thoughts, keep in the ones that are unkind, immature, or that you’re embarrassed to admit, that gives you something tangible to experiment with in your writing. And I feel confident in that advice. And I have these amazing examples that I can point to!
The final thing I always like to remember is that memoir is never about you. It’s about how the reader can see themselves in your story. If you are constantly sharing your thoughts and feelings it does not allow space for the reader to connect and relate to your story. Sometimes the story speaks for itself.