I could sit here and bang away on my keyboard til the cows come home, and someone is likely to want to read some of it. But I just experienced a blinding flash of the obvious: without readers, this blog has no purpose, so keeping you happy and interested by answering your questions and providing helpful information is at the core of my purpose. If I really want this blog to be helpful, I should get some input from you about questions you have. Here's your big chance to help shape the future of this blog, and to have all your questions answered (or at least acknowledged).Please dear readers, whether you are reading this post while it's still fresh, or come across it months or years later, take a moment to post a comment with feedback on
- A question about any aspect of life writing, or an observation you have.
- Have you written something and would like to be interviewed for a blog post? Let me know, in a comment, or a private e-mail.
- Suggested links (your own or others).
- Suggestions for improving the layout.
- Anything else?
Write now: a comment based on the above guidelines.
13 comments :
I would be willing to share some writing and be interviewed on the blog.
I've been writing my history and have wondered how much I should research the accuracy of my memories. I'm hesitant to try to get others' opinions of what happened because then I'm trying to write their history too. It is my memories that have formed my personality and motivated the choices I've made after all. What's your opinion and experience with trying to achieve historical accuracy.
Debbie,
Please send me an email to let me know how to contact you. The link is in my sidebar.
SL
Garret,
Your request is in the queue. Meanwhile, check this old post, and this one for instant access to earlier posts on the topic of accuracy. There are others, but these came up the most easily.
If you aren't already a member, the LifeWriters Forum on YahooGroups has lively discussions of this sort of topic, and you are most welcome to join and jump in with your request. Click here or use the box on my blog sidebar to join.
One question I would like to have explored is organization. However do you organization all the bits and pieces. Sometimes I come up with just a random thought/memory and don't have the time at that moment to delve deeper. How do you, or others, get track so you can later go back and work on it?
Right now I am grappling with a time problem. I have at least half a dozen projects that I would like to work on, but time just gets away from me. I think organization of my time is my primary goal. Even reading blogs is time-consuming. I have a BUNCH on my sidebar, but don't always get around to reading all of them--especially those that post only sporadically (like me!!).
As a fellow blogger on the subject of memoir, I can sympathize with your post. I may be able to know how many hits I get, but that does not tell me who is out there, how much they read, what they think about it, and whether they would prefer some other slant. Readers for the most part remain passive and do not participate in what should be a fascinating discussion of how we make sense of our lives, first to ourselves, then to others with our writing.
Everybody wants to understand their lives. Existence is a mystery, and no person can expect to command all the clues. Your web site is important because it helps me look at my own life stories as I never could on my own. Even posts that do not deal directly with memoir, such as your recent piece on uncopyrighting, give me insights into how to relate to readers and other writers.
I would be happy to help make your web site successful in any way I can. I'm sorry you had to ask.
Judy and Pat, thanks for the suggestions. I'll move organization and "Write Time" high on the list.
Gene,
Thanks for the vote of support. No need for apologies that I had to ask. That's a proactive thing to do, not an indication of frustration or burnout. It's good to have a reality check, and I'm happy you are finding value all along.
Hi Ritergal,
I have written a contemporary historical novel called "Secrets & Lies In El Salvador And Other Places." It is not published yet (I am supposed to be sending out queries now ;->.
I don't know if you would be interested in interviewing me. You can e-mail me at muurayfuentes@aol.com
Thanks,
Sherrie Miranda
Sharon, I have more of a comment than a suggestion. I primarily wanted to thank you for your work because it can be difficult for personal history/memoir writers to find resources that address their specific needs. In my experience, many are not interested in conventional publication, but they are interested in developing their skill as writers. Some of the topics my life writers frequently have questions about are the reliability of memory (addressed above), whether to fictionalize a story in order to reveal more detail, dealing with less-than-supportive family, how to choose the best route for self-publication, how to seek markets for their nostaglia/memoir (if they want to be published), and how to work with an editor. Thanks again, Sharon, for your writing and work!
Terrisa, thanks for the topic suggestions and general support. Readers, if you're stuck for a story, click over to Terrisa's Just Write blog for inspiration.
Karen,
Thanks for the idea. That essay you refer to is long for my blog, but I could post it elsewhere and link back... It is a statement of values, and that's a good topic.
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