Tuesday, February 27, 2007

truth in my memoir

When I was finished writing the first draft of my memoir, I thought it was boreing. Even though I wrote out all the facts as they happened, I thought that it needed to be more suspenceful. However, I never changed my origional draft and handed it in to Dr. Chandler the way it was.

After I handed in my first draft we had that class on Frey about truth. That class left me feeling that I actually did the right thing in leaving my draft they way it was. I thought that maybe if I was to add anything to my draft that it would in some ways become untrue.

Then I had my meeting with Dr. Chandler, and we had another class on truth in writing and I found that I would be able to add elements to my paper that would change it up but still keep it 100% true. We discussed taking out the first part of the essay and just concentrating on the main point a little more, where I could add more detail about my main point and still be able to stay on topic.

As far as I know my essay is completely true. I told the story the exact way that I remember it. I told my own feelings, and I portrayed the people in the story in the was that I saw them at the time. But the issue of truth comes up for me agian becasue the way I portray myself and the other people in my story is from my point of view. I know what I want them to come off like, but someone else reading my work can have a different opinion and get a different feeling. So I guess when I write the memoir I am keeping it true to what I know and remember. Hopefully the story and characters will be portrayed the way by readers the way I intend for them to be.

2 comments:

Molly said...

Your memoir is very interesting. I enjoyed reading about it and I want to hear more.

S. Chandler said...

For me, my writing changes every time I spend time away from it and then go back and read it again. And another thing, it is like my writing tells stories about me (true stories) that sometimes I don't know I am telling until I read them. I wonder if this is part of what was going on with your memoir -- (and your personal essay?) Writing can be such an interesting conversation with your self - almost as if you were another person.