First, I adore sentence diagramming. But then, my other claim to fame is finishing Joyce’s Ulysses ;)
Second, this is v timely! I’m editing my Substack serialized memoir chapters thus far—9 of 13 planned. I lost my direction for the narrative arc, have now audited the 9, and may tape index cards of the beats on the office wall for reference, reviewing them as you suggest. Most have literally been rewritten IRL, but capturing and releasing the epiphanies in a way that’s helpful to other moms requires closing loops and keeping promises—except for the those teasing Vol. 2 ;)
I realize this isn’t exactly what you meant for the assignment, but it fits rather perfectly, doesn’t it?! :) Thanks so much!
This part, "...we are performing narrative alchemy."
Reframing a sentence as a story changes everything (and I hated diagramming sentences - thank you!).
In the last couple of years, I've become a little obsessed with neuroscience. It's fascinating what we do to our brains with the stories we tell ourselves. Rewriting a sentence as a story and choosing to create a belief that serves us can change our brains.
Downloaded the Pocket Quest - can't wait to print it and do it!
Rewriting my story is challenging. And oh to have ever had a shape I was proud of. Never. Only now in my fifties am I approaching that. I guess the upside is there’s no loss for me. The story of my upbringing is one of constant correction in order to perform a different person. Whatever story I may have had vanished into emptiness. A
Thanks for being vulnerable, Kristen. What you said about performing as a different person resonates with me. So many of us were trained to edit ourselves into someone more acceptable and pleasing (recovering "Good Girl" here). That emptiness you describe is probably more common than you know, but I also see something powerful here: you're reading, responding, and rewriting. That’s authorship. The story may have vanished once, but you’re writing it again. I’m cheering you on every step of the way.
First, I adore sentence diagramming. But then, my other claim to fame is finishing Joyce’s Ulysses ;)
Second, this is v timely! I’m editing my Substack serialized memoir chapters thus far—9 of 13 planned. I lost my direction for the narrative arc, have now audited the 9, and may tape index cards of the beats on the office wall for reference, reviewing them as you suggest. Most have literally been rewritten IRL, but capturing and releasing the epiphanies in a way that’s helpful to other moms requires closing loops and keeping promises—except for the those teasing Vol. 2 ;)
I realize this isn’t exactly what you meant for the assignment, but it fits rather perfectly, doesn’t it?! :) Thanks so much!
Okay, you beat me with Ulysses. It absolutely works for beats. If your beats don't tell the right story, then your arc is lost. :-)
I LOVE this!!!
This part, "...we are performing narrative alchemy."
Reframing a sentence as a story changes everything (and I hated diagramming sentences - thank you!).
In the last couple of years, I've become a little obsessed with neuroscience. It's fascinating what we do to our brains with the stories we tell ourselves. Rewriting a sentence as a story and choosing to create a belief that serves us can change our brains.
Downloaded the Pocket Quest - can't wait to print it and do it!
Yay, Kim! Please come back and tell us how it went!
Rewriting my story is challenging. And oh to have ever had a shape I was proud of. Never. Only now in my fifties am I approaching that. I guess the upside is there’s no loss for me. The story of my upbringing is one of constant correction in order to perform a different person. Whatever story I may have had vanished into emptiness. A
Thanks for being vulnerable, Kristen. What you said about performing as a different person resonates with me. So many of us were trained to edit ourselves into someone more acceptable and pleasing (recovering "Good Girl" here). That emptiness you describe is probably more common than you know, but I also see something powerful here: you're reading, responding, and rewriting. That’s authorship. The story may have vanished once, but you’re writing it again. I’m cheering you on every step of the way.