Happy Birthday Emily!! May your new year be golden😊.
I’m thinking about what you wrote about your journal that recorded millions of things you’ve since forgotten. For some strange reason, I thought (in response) “Now that would make a good book: ALL THE THINGS I’VE FORGOTTEN”. But how could one write this book? Hmmm.
I’m of an age now where short-term memory loss is more common for me & my age-peers than not. And Prevagen and all those memory loss pills that still aren’t approved in Canada (I do wonder if it’s a conspiracy against seniors here OR if American seniors shouldn’t be swallowing them because they are dangerous to human beings!)
So what stories could I generate if I could find that old diary of my last Spring of high school, that Summer in which Mom died after years of cancer, and the Fall of my first year of university at 16, alone, in a distant city - by my total choice? Would my stories misrepresent the truth because of the lost memory factor? Is that why we don’t use the genre of Autobiography in favour of Memoir? We can’t be sued for memory loss if we write Memoirs, is that it?
I do think memoirs allow us to be more focused and/or more creative, whereas autobiographies ask for a slightly more factual accounting. I bet if you started a list called "all the things I've forgotten" you'd end up remembering a lot!
Happy belated birthday! Things I've loved this year from your substack: (1) the prompt about how to write a New Yorker story! I finished one and it's not too shabby...; (2) your book suggestions (enraptured by Turtle Diaries at the moment); (3) the series of prompts that led us through creating a short story from a personal anecdote (still haven't finished this one--yet--but it forced me to use a very different voice than typically I do)
Happy Birthday Emily! So much of this post resonated with me: the days of selling a novel on proposal, collagen status and reliving life with young children in a loop. And this:
Time’s the only thing that no one’s making more of. ♥️
Happy birthday!!! I recently discovered the commonplace book as a tool for notes, quotes and ideas for writing. It’s been tremendously helpful to me in poetry; I’m curious if you’ve ever used one, your thoughts/experiences around it. Or, if not, what kind of notes and records do you utilize in terms of grabbing, holding and exploring ideas (before they become drafts)?
Thank you for all your time and care with our journeys! You are an amazing mentor and teacher.
What I love about your substack: it’s succinct and inspiring. I appreciate the relevant quotes from writers I know or don’t know - then the rabbit hole it takes me down. the personal anecdotes. the way it makes me wish I could go back to college and do it over again - making different choices. It’s like a perfectly blended cocktail of cerebral & fuck it. 🧡👍
Happy Birthday Emily!! May your new year be golden😊.
I’m thinking about what you wrote about your journal that recorded millions of things you’ve since forgotten. For some strange reason, I thought (in response) “Now that would make a good book: ALL THE THINGS I’VE FORGOTTEN”. But how could one write this book? Hmmm.
I’m of an age now where short-term memory loss is more common for me & my age-peers than not. And Prevagen and all those memory loss pills that still aren’t approved in Canada (I do wonder if it’s a conspiracy against seniors here OR if American seniors shouldn’t be swallowing them because they are dangerous to human beings!)
So what stories could I generate if I could find that old diary of my last Spring of high school, that Summer in which Mom died after years of cancer, and the Fall of my first year of university at 16, alone, in a distant city - by my total choice? Would my stories misrepresent the truth because of the lost memory factor? Is that why we don’t use the genre of Autobiography in favour of Memoir? We can’t be sued for memory loss if we write Memoirs, is that it?
I do think memoirs allow us to be more focused and/or more creative, whereas autobiographies ask for a slightly more factual accounting. I bet if you started a list called "all the things I've forgotten" you'd end up remembering a lot!
It has sparked my imagination, Emily. Thank you.🇨🇦🇨🇦
Happy belated birthday! Things I've loved this year from your substack: (1) the prompt about how to write a New Yorker story! I finished one and it's not too shabby...; (2) your book suggestions (enraptured by Turtle Diaries at the moment); (3) the series of prompts that led us through creating a short story from a personal anecdote (still haven't finished this one--yet--but it forced me to use a very different voice than typically I do)
I love to hear this, Elizabeth!! Perhaps I'll have to figure out some new formulas for future posts!
Happy Birthday Emily! So much of this post resonated with me: the days of selling a novel on proposal, collagen status and reliving life with young children in a loop. And this:
Time’s the only thing that no one’s making more of. ♥️
Thank you!
Happy birthday!!! I recently discovered the commonplace book as a tool for notes, quotes and ideas for writing. It’s been tremendously helpful to me in poetry; I’m curious if you’ve ever used one, your thoughts/experiences around it. Or, if not, what kind of notes and records do you utilize in terms of grabbing, holding and exploring ideas (before they become drafts)?
Thank you for all your time and care with our journeys! You are an amazing mentor and teacher.
I have a commonplace book, of sorts... or rather, I keep quotes in too many different documents. I wrote about them here! https://writingisagoodidea.substack.com/p/friday-write-115
I can't think of what I would love to see beyond what I already love seeing, thanks for your great ideas, always.
Thank you!! And happy birthday !
Happy Birthday Emily!
What I love about your substack: it’s succinct and inspiring. I appreciate the relevant quotes from writers I know or don’t know - then the rabbit hole it takes me down. the personal anecdotes. the way it makes me wish I could go back to college and do it over again - making different choices. It’s like a perfectly blended cocktail of cerebral & fuck it. 🧡👍
This is so sweet, thank you! Cerebral and fuck it--I'll take that! 💙
Hi again Emily.
If I were to make this list you’ve suggested and then attached the story to each “title”, how would I tie them together into a whole? Thank you Emily