tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14016238.post2695102931531356869..comments2023-11-03T07:01:16.104-05:00Comments on C. Hope Clark: Spilling your life for all to seeHope Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319310910383413396noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14016238.post-43049356043803229942010-10-12T21:42:23.215-05:002010-10-12T21:42:23.215-05:00I've never attempted to write a memoir, but wh...I've never attempted to write a memoir, but when I first got my social work license, I spent four years working the 4:00 PM to Midnight shift in a Level I trauma center/inner city emergency room. I've always thought it would be interesting to go back and write about those days since they helped shape who I became as a professional.Debra Stanghttp://www.debrastang.net/wpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14016238.post-39841607602796847192010-10-09T12:41:47.996-05:002010-10-09T12:41:47.996-05:00Malcolm,
A great point. The gentleman I mentioned...Malcolm,<br /><br />A great point. The gentleman I mentioned in the blog is now hiring someone to help him "clean up" his journal before he prints it for his family. That saddens me. I'd want to see the man's handwriting and read the words exactly as they were originally penned. It's character.<br /><br />HopeHope Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17319310910383413396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14016238.post-11140600237396738862010-10-09T12:28:46.011-05:002010-10-09T12:28:46.011-05:00I'll leave memoir writing to others. Perhaps t...I'll leave memoir writing to others. Perhaps the "democracy of self-publishing" has lured many of those who kept journals for their own enjoyment and/or to leave behind for their kids into the idea that just maybe they can make a million bucks with their life story.<br /><br />That's a shame, especially if the journal begins sort of like a pure oral history interview, but then gets turned into something that's "cleaned up" for publication. Writing to be read really changes what one says. One can no longer trust it to be quite as true as a window into the individual's feelings or a slice of his/her life and times.<br /><br />MalcolmMalcolm R. Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07840134761199335243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14016238.post-83487720720578943932010-10-08T19:06:04.862-05:002010-10-08T19:06:04.862-05:00I think memoirs (and any other writing for that ma...I think memoirs (and any other writing for that matter) need to have those key elements of caring about the reader more than yourself. Writing a journal, if you intend for others to read it, needs to be more than just about you and your life so a reader can be able to relate to it. I think a lot of people who dabble in writing but want to amazingly make it big through an act of God or something aren't considering readers at all.Margaret Telsch-Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18232829268059108108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14016238.post-22401397869858391112010-10-08T16:15:34.020-05:002010-10-08T16:15:34.020-05:00Hello, Hope ~
Nope, no stepped on toes here, eithe...Hello, Hope ~<br />Nope, no stepped on toes here, either. But I confess to a chuckle when I read your editor's suggestion at the end of each page to ask "So who cares?"! GOOD piece of advice! And that said, I would ask: at what point does it cease being an exercise in sharing wisdom gained and become narcissistic? Many thanks again for YOUR shared wisdom -- appreciate it, and you, very much!<br />LynneLynne Howenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14016238.post-1253642779655790982010-10-08T14:30:09.212-05:002010-10-08T14:30:09.212-05:00Wonderful post and no hurt toes here.
I am very f...Wonderful post and no hurt toes here.<br /><br />I am very fortunate to have a memoir penned by my great, great grandfather. He was quite a renowned preacher in his day and so a series of his sermons was published in a book, along with a brief life story. <br /><br />My mother and my father in law are both writing their memoirs on their computers but neither intends to publish them. Instead, they are writing them as a means of passing the stories on to the next generation, but they both know that many of those stories will not have any meaning to a larger audience.<br /><br />I see posts on craigslist all the time from people looking for ghostwriters to write their story because "Everyone tells me I should write a book about my life." Maybe, but remember that they probably find your stories interesting because they know you. Would they hold the same meaning to a complete stranger?Fionahttp://www.fionayoungbrown.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14016238.post-69247273256404358602010-10-08T02:19:12.809-05:002010-10-08T02:19:12.809-05:00no hurt toes here - but then I'm not writing m...no hurt toes here - but then I'm not writing my memoir. But I do journal and I journal for my children and grandchildren and whomever might come behind them :) I agree in part. As you said, everyone writes for a reason - Mine is just to share my faith walk for those that come behind me. <br /><br />I write long hand - on purpose. They'll have a very difficult time reading some of it - but it won't be impossible. Mom has been gone for 8 years now, and when I find a piece of something - even a scribbled list - with her handwriting ...It becomes a precious treasure. We'll never know what will mean the most to those that come behind us. Everyone's different. So I'll just concentrate on what matters most to me, and hope that it matters to them when I'm gone. I'll continue to scribble long hand and preserve my unique handwriting - scribbles and all. (scribbles only because my not so young fingers struggle to record the flowing passion from my spirit :)<br /><br />God bless you Hope<br /><br />Patrina <")>><<br />princess warriorPatrinas Pencilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08103800317102189590noreply@blogger.com