Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Non-Fiction as Therapy
I've let a few people read my initial non-fiction piece and it's felt really good. I realize that this is a really simple statement, but it's significant because I don't feel that I'm still upset by my parents divorce or really suffer any lingering effect. It felt good to let people read it because I was able to analyze a time period in my life and let other people read it. It's fundamentally different than me telling someone about it or having a chat about divorce. I was able to hand people my computer and let them read it while I cooked or read something. When it was done they told me that they liked it and maybe other comments, but there was enough distance through the medium that it felt like my writing and not my life was what was being judged. I feel like when people affirm the success or partial success of a piece they are in turn validating my own analysis of my life.
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I'm glad to hear it, Jordan. Writing about sensitive topics is tough, but I agree that getting them out there is definitely worth it. Looking forward to reading your revision!
ReplyDeleteI'm totally with you Jordan. Where you more eloquently say, "analysis," I usually think about, "working shit out." I hadn't thought about that process, though, in the way that you describe it here in terms of distance, or not having a chat about a topic. I think you're very right to point out that the distance alters what is being judged and commented on, and I plan on going forward in my writing with that in mind. This slight shift in focus from concern about how people perceive my sense of Self to how people perceive my sensing of Self will be really useful, I hope.
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