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Saturday, May 14, 2011

An Introduction is in Order...

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome!  Katie speaking, known as katiemickgee in most of the Internet realm, and ready to introduce you to what we here at "Big Myth We Live" hope will become something of a phenomenon among the blogging, writing, and casually observing set.

The Memoir Project is currently in its infant stages, born mere days prior to this introductory post, sprung from a love of reading, a love of writing, and a love of the mundane.  Everyone has tiny details they notice, the little bits and pieces of life that make the life you live uniquely yours.  It's the way the sun tumbles off the windowsill in the morning, as you read the paper and drink your tea.  It's the cat fur on the sofa and the chew toy abandoned in the corner.  It's the framed photographs on the wall, or the seventh grade art projects hidden under your bed.  It's the CDs stacked in the closet, the rain on the pavement, the way you enunciate a favorite word, listening to a friend talk about their favorite things.  It's your life.  And every single aspect of it is absolutely, unmistakably important.



You should take the time to remember these things, these people, these moments.  They make your life what it is, good, bad, or ugly, and they deserve recording.  So you've never thought of writing a memoir.  So you hate nonfiction.  So you don't want the world to know your innermost thoughts.  Well, this isn't a memoir for the world - it's a memoir for you.  You should challenge yourself to write about whatever's on your mind, every single day, not only to clear your mind, but also to make note of how you feel and why.  You don't need to prove to anyone that your life is important.  If it's meaningful to you, write it.

Thus, the Memoir Project, and the snippets of our lives we choose to share within this blog, exist to record and celebrate these details, these ideas, these moments.  We want you - challenge you - to take the time to notice the mundane.  And then, when you've realized how these things touch your heart or simply brighten your day, take the time to sit, to ponder, and to write about them.  It can be a memory of something terrible or something wonderful in the moment.  And you can write a sentence, a short paragraph, a novel, an essay with correct MLA citations; it doesn't matter.  You write about what moves you in your daily life, and you write enough to describe what it means to you and why.  Write until you're done, whether that's a fragmented phrase or a lifetime of words.

The real rules for the Memoir Project merely pertain to the actual writing of these details.  The subject matter is up to you.  Your writing implements are your decision.  All we ask is that you try to choose at least three small details from your life to record, every day you are alive and able to do so.  On days when you feel empty, dig deeper.  Write about family, friends, your car, the landscape, anything you see, touch, hear, feel, or smell from anywhere life takes you.  Write about three details, in varying lengths or strict word counts, whatever fits your life.  And make sure you write every single day.  No cheating!  Don't skip a day and then write about six moments to make up for it.  The Memoir Project shouldn't feel like work.  It's a record of your life.  Because you deserve to remember all of it, to revel in the journey, to cry at the memories, to laugh at the wonder, to share it with the ones you love, should you choose to do so.

So, again, I challenge you to write everyday, about whatever moves you.  Remember, we're doing this, too - we're right here with you, struggling and writing and remembering.  If we're lucky, there will also be occasional guest posts, to broaden all our perspectives and widen our worldviews.  Maybe, soon enough, you will be one of those guests, proud to tell us about your favorite pair of socks or that stain on your ceiling in the shape of a terrier.

And, in the meantime, you can always check in here to seek advice, to skim the posts, or just to see what we've got to share on a daily basis :]

Welcome to the Memoir Project!  We're happy to have you here.

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