writing is power in its own right

Editor Mary Rakow recently suggested that I write the next phase of my manuscript differently, when I met her in San Francisco.  We brainstormed ways to braid together life stories into descending and ascending arcs, that deliver a different experience for the reader than the saga I wrote about my time on this planet.  Like most people,  I usually tell my story in chronological order, but what happened doesn’t really need linear chronology.

For example, starting my life story with both sides of my grandparents doesn’t move my story.  It provides context for who I think I am, but other people probably don’t care about my grandparents.  When I jumble up personal anecdotes, people and events change.  My memory changes when I jumble it up. Continue reading “Trying to rearrange memories” »