Great article. Just a shout out that, in my own experience, writing FICTION can be better than writing about your own life because you can get closer to the truth or your greatest fears, than addressing them straight on.
E.g. I was able to understand a lot about my own fear of death (more my 2nd death of being erased) by writing a novel about characters enduring constant death in the apocalypse.
Very much inspiring me to write. Seems like a fun personal activity to write a belief or life lesson and then a story about how I came to hold that belief.
I agree that the writing doesn’t have to be profound. My great grandmother kept a daily diary from 1941-1982. Just what she and the family did everyday for 41 years. I have a snapshot of my mother’s life and my life until I was nearly twenty and life in Oklahoma City for a 40 year period. It is a beautiful time capsule. It is not profound but very real.
Great article. Just a shout out that, in my own experience, writing FICTION can be better than writing about your own life because you can get closer to the truth or your greatest fears, than addressing them straight on.
E.g. I was able to understand a lot about my own fear of death (more my 2nd death of being erased) by writing a novel about characters enduring constant death in the apocalypse.
Great point Rick!
Very much inspiring me to write. Seems like a fun personal activity to write a belief or life lesson and then a story about how I came to hold that belief.
How did it end up turning out?
This essay will change lives. Beautiful.
Thanks Tatyana, this comment means a lot!
I agree that the writing doesn’t have to be profound. My great grandmother kept a daily diary from 1941-1982. Just what she and the family did everyday for 41 years. I have a snapshot of my mother’s life and my life until I was nearly twenty and life in Oklahoma City for a 40 year period. It is a beautiful time capsule. It is not profound but very real.
Oh how I wish my relatives had written about their lives before they were gone. They had remarkable lives, and all that is left are snippets