First of all, thank you for this. It inspired me to finally finish my latest blog post, which has been 90% done for almost a month. Second, your analysis is spot on. When I write personal stuff, it's like I'm mining my experience for material that can be fitted into a narrative to produce an effect in my readers, most often humor but also various poetic effects. It's very tempting to rearrange things or shade the truth if it would be funnier or if it would produce some kind of cool poetic resonance. I find that sticking to the truth, finding a way to get the same effect, or some other equally desirable effect, while remaining factually accurate, requires a peculiar kind of creativity, more like the creativity involved in crocheting or building a shed or an app, than like the easy flow of raw inspiration. I am conscious of the limitations of the material (my actual experience) as of the limitations of worsted-weight Merino wool yarn or lumber and nails or JavaScript. One has to actually think. Or maybe it's that the easy flow of inspiration is only possible because of my depth of experience with language; I'll never be as experienced with yarn or wood or bits and bytes as I am with words.
Joan, I really like that comparison of nonfiction storytelling to crocheting or building with specific materials and real-world constraints. It does require a different way of creating a good story, one that relies on transparency with readers about what is factual and what’s imagined.
First of all, thank you for this. It inspired me to finally finish my latest blog post, which has been 90% done for almost a month. Second, your analysis is spot on. When I write personal stuff, it's like I'm mining my experience for material that can be fitted into a narrative to produce an effect in my readers, most often humor but also various poetic effects. It's very tempting to rearrange things or shade the truth if it would be funnier or if it would produce some kind of cool poetic resonance. I find that sticking to the truth, finding a way to get the same effect, or some other equally desirable effect, while remaining factually accurate, requires a peculiar kind of creativity, more like the creativity involved in crocheting or building a shed or an app, than like the easy flow of raw inspiration. I am conscious of the limitations of the material (my actual experience) as of the limitations of worsted-weight Merino wool yarn or lumber and nails or JavaScript. One has to actually think. Or maybe it's that the easy flow of inspiration is only possible because of my depth of experience with language; I'll never be as experienced with yarn or wood or bits and bytes as I am with words.
Joan, I really like that comparison of nonfiction storytelling to crocheting or building with specific materials and real-world constraints. It does require a different way of creating a good story, one that relies on transparency with readers about what is factual and what’s imagined.