Memoirs can certainly cover bad things but life doesn't have to be all bad to be interesting. Many people do like to hear the stories about the bad things that have happened to others, but hopefully there is some redemptive or uplifting aspect to it all. That's not always the case. It all depends on the life story you are telling and what over all message you want to convey to your readers.
Good or bad, life consists of many beginnings: Childhood, starting school, entering a new career, or the early years of marriage are just a few examples of beginnings that a memoir can discuss. Beginnings can tell stories that lead to success or failure. They can describe how the memoirist got to where they eventually arrived. Stories about how life events or situations came to be can be of tremendous interest to readers. All beginnings should have an eventual outcome or at least some insight as to where the story might end up one day.
Life stories that relate to an author's belief system or their dubious encounter with belief that did not turn out well such as involvement and detachment from a cult can be compelling reading for many. This topic usually has a motivation to convert, enlighten, or warn others about the belief system to which the story relates.
Bad stories can make for good reading and good stories don't have to be boring. The mission of any memoir is to be informative but ultimately interesting.
What "B" topics weren't mentioned here? Can you think of any memoir that fits in the category of "beliefs"? What is a "beginning" story that you would like to read about?
I always enjoy reading stories about how fellow Deadheads began following the band. One of my friends told me I should blog about my experiences in that culture. I have 4 blog posts that have been drafted for over 2 years because there's just so much information about those times. It's a little overwhelming. And I only saw them 35 times. Many of my fellow Deadheads went hundreds and hundreds of times, starting from the late 60s and 70s.
ReplyDeleteStill 35 times is a lot, but it's surprising those other Heads aren't dead yet after so many concerts.
DeleteLee
My daughter said once that her she didn't have an interesting story about childhood because her childhood was without drama. Then she told me how she and her friend (when she stayed the night) walked through a field while the cows were at home. It made her nervous. There was more to the story than that, but I told her how our lives may not seem interesting to us, but they might be to someone else.
ReplyDeleteExactly! And any story no matter how dull can be made immensely interesting by a good storyteller.
DeleteLee
It's always interesting to read the life events that shaped someone. I think everyone's life is interesting. I am pretty nosy though.
ReplyDeleteMy wife thinks I'm very nosy. I like to think I'm doing research.
DeleteLee
I like your B choices: "Bad stories can make for good reading and good stories don't have to be boring." Well said!
ReplyDeleteHappy A to Z!
Laura
Thank you, Laura!
DeleteLee
Beginnings is often daunting, though I (randomly perhaps) thought of a film called Stuart: A Life Backwards, and realised, the beginning can be anywhere. I too liked your statement Laura mentioned, so very true!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading more :)
So true. Each story in our life begin with an event or an idea and it wasn't necessarily when we were born or a kid.
DeleteLee
Thanks Arlee, interesting post.
ReplyDeleteWHERE can I find your A-Z on dreams? Have been a'hunting ...
DeleteA Faraway View
I'm dreaming away at that link.
Lee
Thanks Arlee, interesting post.
ReplyDeletePlease advise: WHERE can I find yr AZ on Dreams - have been hunting .. I thought I was subscribed ... I got the A one ...
If I was doing an A-Z on memoirs, I'd bet B would be for BS.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good category for politician and celebrity memoirs.
DeleteLee
I'd prefer to read about bad beginning than a belief story as those frequently diverge into one of those touchy subjects. Stories about bad things should teach us something: how to survive them, and how to avoid bad situations in the future.
ReplyDeleteThere are many "belief" stories that have been very popular. I guess there were other factors tied into the stories that gave them more depth, but the belief aspect was the main theme.
DeleteLee
Memoirs are tricky, as they require a certain amount of distance to be written truthfully and honestly. As some like to say, autobiographies are the best form of fiction there is! But as far as your comment that "hopefully there is some redemptive or uplifting aspect to it all," I would agree that this is my main reason to read memoirs. When people go through tough times, I hope that they have learned something - and that they are sharing their tale in order to spare the rest of us some hurt or heartache by offering their story as a "do as I say, not as I do" narrative. Sometimes, of course, we are just titillated by the awfulness of it all (reality TV, anyone?), but I like to believe that most people who write memoirs are self aware enough to realize that there must be some lesson for us readers, if not for the writer.
ReplyDeleteI guess not all lesson are uplifting or redemptive, but those memoirs probably don't get too many readers. I can't think of any like that. I didn't read Snookie's memoir.
DeleteLee
We tend to want to read about the bad things that happen to people more than the good. It's why people are fascinated with crime stories and rubberneckers clog the highway after an accident . But bad things that lead to new beginnings give us hope for our own life and our own dilemmas. B can stand for quite a bit of intersting topics : Backward spirals before the new beginning, breakups , breakdowns, bottom - hitting rock bottom before climbing back to the top. We all love rooting for the underdog to make a comeback. And blackouts, bipolar and other mental illnesses, backstabbers and being backstabbed and amazing stories of people recovering from the brink of death. Oh, one more - blame . I'm on a roll and loving these posts, but I'm gonna have to take a break and come back tomorrow .
ReplyDelete