Recrudescence

I started this blog to focus on writing – mostly as accountability for my memoir process. Leaving the old blog behind makes me feel disconnected, scattered and thinking maybe I should have revived the old Witt Bits. Any advice? Should I try to import the blogger blog into WordPress, put a link on the current site to the old one, or just let it go and move on?

Quidnunc

Admit it. We all like to hear a juicy bit of gossip. As long as it is not about us. Or our family. Or our best friend. The important thing to remember, however, is that most gossip is simply idle talk or rumor.

Writing memoir requires cautious editing and removal of anything which could damage others. Quidnuncs are invited to read my memoir. They may be disappointed.

Pejorative

Homelessness is uncharted territory for most of us. Sadly, it will come up in my memoir from a parent’s view. Pejorative words that inflict insult or destructive thinking about these people are better left unsaid. Mark your calendar and watch Dogtown Redemption on your local PBS station May 16th. Watch it with compassion – just because someone is homeless does not mean they are undesirable, damaged or inferior.

Facinorous

What does a word like facinorous have to do with writing a memoir? Here’s a hint. I discovered this word last year and immediately attached it to the one person who deserved to be portrayed as the atrociously wicked one. But writing sometimes heals old injuries and we can choose who surfaces in our memoirs. My advice – write what you need to write and erase with diligence.

Eucatastrophe

Imagine if you were writing a memoir and suddenly you were hit with an incredible twist of fate. Would you rewrite the entire book? I’m not sure how I’d answer that but I know one thing for sure – if I keep waiting for the eucatastrophic ending, my memoir may never be complete. I could create a happy ending as fiction. Who knows? Maybe it would come true.