tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353587259598784401.post1689174359828941276..comments2011-10-12T19:59:20.483-07:00Comments on PackRat Memoirs: A questionSqueakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12263224619475268530noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353587259598784401.post-54919676246261254912011-01-11T07:30:45.052-08:002011-01-11T07:30:45.052-08:00Think of 200 words as a challenge. Use it to hone...Think of 200 words as a challenge. Use it to hone down your writing, keep it crisp. Write as much as you would like in draft, but then edit down to the bones. Find the emotional core, and strip it as bare as you can to fit it into the space.<br /><br />Or, write as long as you would like. This is a journal for you first. It's your memories, after all. Preserve them in the way you think best. But there is a lot of value in learning to mercilessly cut and cut and cut until you find the fewest words that can possibly express your feelings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353587259598784401.post-44363233778732005192011-01-11T06:16:32.997-08:002011-01-11T06:16:32.997-08:00I can definitely imagine these questions coming up...I can definitely imagine these questions coming up while writing something so personal in a relatively public forum... questions of audience, who you're writing for, how much that audience can gleam from your story...<br /><br />And of course, I think these questions are just as personal in their own way(s) and perhaps they are meant more rhetorically-- but for what it's worth, I just want to say that I completely love these stories so far. I think they hold all the more power because of their being concise-- for the trust you leave to the reader's imagination. The extra details are lovely, though, too-- I think either way when you read these, you'll feel the full story rushing back to you no matter which words you chose to leave out, and for our part, we're just grateful you're sharing. :)<br /><br />-beckiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com