is your book autobiographical?
what someone really wants to know, or wants to know a little, when they ask this question, i think, is 'did you have any other motive during the writing of your book other than to express yourself, to say what you really and sincerely think and feel?' and if so then 'how much of the book was written with other motives in mind, such as money, fame, will the reader enjoy this, will my writing workshop enjoy this, will my mom enjoy this, will i embarrass myself with this, will people think i am weird or self-centered or solipsistic if i write this'
the question, i think, is 'would you write this same book if you were the last person alive and locked in a room and you knew that you were the last person alive and there'd be no other people ever and that you'd never get out of that room?'
probably all authors, to different degrees, would have to answer that question with 'no, i wouldn't have edited this one paragraph to make this story end in a more satisfying way' or 'no, i wouldn't have written any book if no one was going to read it'
people want to know if they are being 'lied' to in that way, if they are being like 'spiritually' lied to, and to what degree, which seems 'normal,' which explains and 'validates' maybe why everyone always wants to know if something is autobiographical
the question, i think, is 'would you write this same book if you were the last person alive and locked in a room and you knew that you were the last person alive and there'd be no other people ever and that you'd never get out of that room?'
probably all authors, to different degrees, would have to answer that question with 'no, i wouldn't have edited this one paragraph to make this story end in a more satisfying way' or 'no, i wouldn't have written any book if no one was going to read it'
people want to know if they are being 'lied' to in that way, if they are being like 'spiritually' lied to, and to what degree, which seems 'normal,' which explains and 'validates' maybe why everyone always wants to know if something is autobiographical
5 Comments:
I love your total disregard for all rules of proper punctuation. It is refreshing.
Hmmm. Maybe I'll link to you if you let me know your name.
I like what you say about Lorrie Moore being "a depressing book herself."
i hate how the spaces between the normal line breaks and the spaces between the line breaks after the quotes are different
i hate blogspot
should have used typepad
too late now
Every book is autobiographical, but the authors do the work of ficcionalize their thoughts and experiences in... fiction.
wait does this mean that autobiographical works are the ones that people think are 'lying' to them or 'pure fiction' (which is a bullshit concept, imo) is lying...
Post a Comment
<< Home