Isearch What

What I Know:

I know that writing is easy and writing is hard. Sometimes alternately, occasionally at the same time. It'd seem intuitive to believe that the subject matter heavily influences whether writing is a difficult or free-flowing endeavor. Yet, I have this sense that writing about one's life and experiences may be the most difficult kind. Perhaps it is also the most rewarding. I honestly don't know what writing a memoir would be like. I've only written snapshots, minor sketches that could only be considered a shadow of a complete memoir piece.

I do know that I have material to write. But, I also know that having material, raw material trapped abstractly in the mind, is only a catalyst. It doesn't automatically ensure fruition. I believe development of ideas and concepts require a roadmap of sorts, especially those from the entirely gray areas of memory.

Although I've read many memoirs, I haven't done much research on how to construct one yet. I imagine it'd be like writing a musical piece. Which note goes where? I think a so-called "information dump" would be an interesting starting point. A brainstorm of recall. All the primary events, emotions, experiences. That could be one way of sifting through the mass of material in search of where to start.

I'm not sure, however, if an outline would be useful in writing a memoir. How does one outline their life? I mentioned chronological order, but I'm not sure if that kind of timeline would work. I don't believe life is chronological, or linear, at all. It bounces and fluctuates. I have felt like an old lady lying in bed after major surgery when I was twelve and I have felt like a naive, lost seven year old at twenty-four. It's all relative. I'm not sure how to prevent the reader from getting confused, though. I think it's very easy for ourselves to shuffle through time, but it'd be harder for an outsider to follow along.

As far as memory and fact becoming too blurry and the risk of floating into fictional territory, I'm not sure either. It'd definitely require discipline to resist the urge to overly embellish. We all embellish our stories, but I don't think it should be at the cost of the truth. The reason for writing a memoir varies from person to person, I'm sure. The truth, as subjective as that may be at times, is important to me. Yet, unless someone has jotted down every detail of their life as it happened, a little connect-the-dots may need to come into play. That'll be an interesting question to research, and I get the feeling whatever answers I find will not be as concrete as I might hope.

Format is another topic that opens many questions. I don't know how other writers decide on format, if it comes naturally and without much thought for some, or if the material has to be rearranged and edited several times for others. This is another blind spot I'll need to uncover.

I may know more on this subject than I think I do. I may know even less. It may be a combination of both. With some research I'll discover which it is and will have many answers to continue on my writing path.