Under Construction - MHWA Retreat

Here is a short reply to folks who posted before me:

Dragon is hiding , You have an amazing life. It has been a blast to read about the things you have shared on WdC. I am certain a memoir of your life would be a good read!

WakeUpAndLive , I started to disagree when you said you have to be a good writer and have had an interesting life. The good writer part is not true. One need only be an adequate writer. Mr.C from "I Met Mr. C."  was not a good writer, Ann Frank was a kid but they both did live memorable lives. My grandmother was a good writer but lived an ordinary life. I loved reading about how she met my grandfather and the ups and downs of their early life together because she was an important person in my life. Others might not have enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed reading about Mr.C. (Sadly, we'll never know.)


Quilli ☕ , You said, "A good memoir, for me, tells a story of strength and courage." For me, a good memoir simply gives me a glimpse into someone's life. That being said, I would like to read "about <your> younger life and what <you> had to overcome to be the coffee-drinking, sweet, smart-ass <we> see before <us> today". Is this in your port?


jabberwocky , You said, "the human experience is so interesting". So true! It is also true that writing our own memoir can be daunting. As I was replying to your post, I looked at "When Daddy Died..."  and "Is Daddy Okay? (3rd person limited)" . Writing may be cathartic but we also relive the painful memories. Life, of course, has both happy and sad things. Recording either in a readable form can prove a challenge.


Kåre เลียม Enga , You suggest cutting out the boring parts but go on to say, "Even the boring parts can be a window into another mind or place in time." Life is full of boring moments, eh? Made me think of "Nano 2017 Viewmaster" .

Charlie ~ , It is funny to me that when thinking about "Memoirs", I did not even think about published memoirs until I started reading other people's responses. I have read Ann Frank, Helen Keller, Corrie Ten Boon but did not think of them when writing my own reaponse to this week's TotW. You are right, when writing a memoir, you must consider how much you want to divulge. Because of YOU, I have written about an aspect of my life I have been hesitant to share in the past. The title of the book item I am using for MHWA was originally "ruwth writes about Mental Health". You know most of the entries I wrote for an earlier challenge are now set to private. I have reread some of them as I was getting ready for this current challenge and I am glad I wrote them even if I am not ready to share them right now. Anyways, I realized my original title did not really work so I came up with a new title: "Challenging The Stigma of Mental Illness" . The first place I have to challenge it is in my own life. Maybe I don't really want to write a complete memoir after all...

Sumojo , You said, "I wrote my life story, purely for myself, as an exercise in trying to make sense of life." Some of what I have written has been for that same purpose. I suspect many of us could say that.


peanutmom20, One thing you mentioned about writing a memoir was "There are people from those times in my life that I have very choice comments I'd like to say about them, but I'd get in trouble if they found out I wrote such nasty things about them." I started writing "A Brand New Ending"  and stopped abruptly and changed it to private realizing that I might not want to share those thoughts with the world. I am glad people are not mindreaders. Although, I do believe we need to restrain ourselves from thinking a gob of negative about folks because, mindreaders or not, people are affected by negative thoughts.


Prosperous Snow celebrating , I loved what you said: "Memories...are intended to give us joy, make us cry, and remind us of lessons learned. Memories connect the future with the past and the present. They are part of the human experience, and--in some mysterious way--connect with the human soul."


LeJenD' , Your comment "many are just out there writing their life story or single experiences to try to help someone else or even just to document those moments in time." made me think about "Goal: Be a Successful Freelance Writer!" . When I started writing it, I expected to succeed as a freelance writer and wanted to record the journey. I thought that one day, other might want to follow in my path. That might sound narcissistic but it was intended to be more altruistic—letting others know that if I could succeed, they could, too. Hasn't quite worked out that way though...


I will also try to add a comment to folks who responded to the TotW after me:

queenkissy, Well, this is a GREAT line: "I'm not so sure I want all my dirty laundry flapping in the wind for just anyone to pick up. It's one thing to display my best bra to the neighborhood, but a completely different thing to wave around my old granny panties." That succinctly expresses many of our thoughts about sharing our lives, eh!

~Minja~ , We can be surprised by what happens when we try to write about our experiences—especially if they are unpleasant. Wonder how many of us have partially finished stories like this locked up in our WdC portfolios.

ruwth may be an odd duck but
~ ~ ~ JESUS is still LORD! ~ ~ ~