The first of a series of memoir post I wrote for Carrot Ranch.
By Irene Waters
As you read this I will be sitting on the high seas, nearing the equator, out of range of the internet so I will start by apologising for what will seem my tardy response to any comments. Don’t worry I will get there and look forward to coming back to a conversation in full swing.
Initially, I was planning for this post to discuss what memoir is but decided that I have already written a post on the difference between memoir and fiction so instead I will direct you to that and write instead on the work of Memoir.
Have you ever thought about why you read memoir? Have you ever noticed that you read memoir differently to the way you read fiction? I know I do. I am supercritical with memoir if I find what is written to be unbelievable. If I discover after I have…
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Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
The Carrot Ranch site is closed to comments so I’m going to tell you here how much I enjoyed this article, Irene. I don’t write memoir with the intention of publication as a book, but I draw on my personal experiences for many of my blog articles. Nearly always I disguise other people with characteristics not their own. They don’t deserve to be poorly represented even when they do. I think we live events through a filter of our backgrounds, determined by our age and location, our neuroses and aspirations, and our ability to glean what was really essential about an event. If we thought it was the number of cupcakes each kid ate when it was really how difficult it was to acquire sugar and flour and chocolate, then we’ve missed the provocative element. It’s this unique perspective that makes one memoir frivolous and the other momentous.
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I totally agree with you Sharon. We approach all reading with our own experiences and beliefs but being able to impart in memoir the “provocative” element with reflection does indeed make a huge difference in the impact that the book will have on its reader.
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Good idea to repost! I can go back and adjust the comments. I think I have it set at 30 days because of shutting down the challenges.
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Probably no need Charli. I don’t know why I didn’t post them at the time so thought I would do so now.
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