This is SO helpful...I love the question: What is the transformation? You put into words what is fueling my writing. For me there is a very strong realization that when we have challenges if we seek the transformation "in the works" we can move through anything--not always easy--and not get bogged down or trapped in a loop of endless confict.
Just read this interview with Pam Houston on Jane Ratcliffe's Substack -
"I don't like to know the aboutness of a thing before I start. I don't like to know what this means, where it's going, how it ends, or what the arc is. I try to not engage with those questions for as long as I possibly can, maybe ever. What I have instead is an idea about a form. For Deep Creek, the idea was a calendar. For Contents May Have Shifted, the idea was a 12-sided Rubik's cube....Because I'm not writing an outline or asking all those other questions or thinking about narrative arc or thinking about plot, for lack of a better word, the idea of the form becomes the container in which I can experiment so that I'm not worried that the thing is just going to float off into space."
It's always very heartening to read a terrific writer who says their technique is what Imaginative Storm teaches!
Thanks! It's a beautiful picture, isn't it. So here's the interesting story behind it: I sent it along with lots of other pics to Simon & Schuster, and they came back using it in the jacket design, cropped. Me: "You can't crop an Avedon! They'll never allow it." S&S: "Well, let's see."So I contacted the Avedon Foundation and they had no record of that photo! Others from the same day, yes, but not that one. So they said, we can't claim it's an Avedon though it obviously is, you can see him in the mirror taking the photo, so as long as you don't say it's an Avedon you can crop it all you want! - My theory is that Avedon, who was a friend of my mother's, got freaked out by the numinous light around her head and felt like he'd seen a premonition of her death, and that's why he destroyed the negative. I just have it from the contact sheet.
It is a crazy story. And one of many beautiful photos you shared with us in Love Child. Which brings up a question: are we expected to share childhood photos in a memoir? What if they were destroyed?
I agree with this. We work out in our head what the story is and then get worked up about it. Until it's written down you may not know which way the story goes. Will this event be on replay if we miss the live?
Thank you for these words. Yes, it is difficult to distill the real story from the kaleidoscopic events of one’s life. Telling stories without a through line or transformation is probably only interesting to the person telling it. I’m hoping to clarify the life lesson, or transformative aspect of my life story to touch others in some way. The weekly prompts are driving me deeper and I’m grateful. Thank you.
this is a brilliant reflection on the nature of story and the need in a memoir to find the story you are telling, first what you need to tell yourself, and then to uncover why you are telling it to another.. finding the "new equilibrium" is vital. thank you so much Allegra
This is SO helpful...I love the question: What is the transformation? You put into words what is fueling my writing. For me there is a very strong realization that when we have challenges if we seek the transformation "in the works" we can move through anything--not always easy--and not get bogged down or trapped in a loop of endless confict.
So wise!
Just read this interview with Pam Houston on Jane Ratcliffe's Substack -
"I don't like to know the aboutness of a thing before I start. I don't like to know what this means, where it's going, how it ends, or what the arc is. I try to not engage with those questions for as long as I possibly can, maybe ever. What I have instead is an idea about a form. For Deep Creek, the idea was a calendar. For Contents May Have Shifted, the idea was a 12-sided Rubik's cube....Because I'm not writing an outline or asking all those other questions or thinking about narrative arc or thinking about plot, for lack of a better word, the idea of the form becomes the container in which I can experiment so that I'm not worried that the thing is just going to float off into space."
It's always very heartening to read a terrific writer who says their technique is what Imaginative Storm teaches!
Such generosity here - taking every word of your advice! Thank you.
Perfect message to receive in my inbox today. Thank you.
PS I love the picture of your family. It really touches my heart.
Thanks! It's a beautiful picture, isn't it. So here's the interesting story behind it: I sent it along with lots of other pics to Simon & Schuster, and they came back using it in the jacket design, cropped. Me: "You can't crop an Avedon! They'll never allow it." S&S: "Well, let's see."So I contacted the Avedon Foundation and they had no record of that photo! Others from the same day, yes, but not that one. So they said, we can't claim it's an Avedon though it obviously is, you can see him in the mirror taking the photo, so as long as you don't say it's an Avedon you can crop it all you want! - My theory is that Avedon, who was a friend of my mother's, got freaked out by the numinous light around her head and felt like he'd seen a premonition of her death, and that's why he destroyed the negative. I just have it from the contact sheet.
It is a crazy story. And one of many beautiful photos you shared with us in Love Child. Which brings up a question: are we expected to share childhood photos in a memoir? What if they were destroyed?
Not expected at all. Most memoirs don't have a photo insert. Some include a photo or two integrated with the text.
Wow that is a crazy story! thanks for sharing
I agree with this. We work out in our head what the story is and then get worked up about it. Until it's written down you may not know which way the story goes. Will this event be on replay if we miss the live?
Thank you for these words. Yes, it is difficult to distill the real story from the kaleidoscopic events of one’s life. Telling stories without a through line or transformation is probably only interesting to the person telling it. I’m hoping to clarify the life lesson, or transformative aspect of my life story to touch others in some way. The weekly prompts are driving me deeper and I’m grateful. Thank you.
this is a brilliant reflection on the nature of story and the need in a memoir to find the story you are telling, first what you need to tell yourself, and then to uncover why you are telling it to another.. finding the "new equilibrium" is vital. thank you so much Allegra
I love that, Laura: first what you need to tell yourself, and then why you are telling it to another. May I steal that for the memoir book?
of course. of course. quote me happily.
xxxx Laura
Thank you so much for this clarity 💕