Writing About Who We Are

Writing About Who We Are

Autobiographies are very popular for those of us who have achieved fame, and feel others would like to know how we became what we are. [Side Note #1: There are autobiographies written by folks who have not achieved fame, however they are not remarkably successful. For instance see if you can find a copy of “Herman Finklemiester, Plumber Extraordinaire.”] There are some blogs that are dedicated to the revelations of the lives of the blogster. [Side Note #2: I just made up the word “Blogster” and my spell- check is not happy about it. I guess it’s true, you can’t make all the machines happy, all of the time.]

You don’t have to be famous to write an interesting story about your life. You do have to be able to write an interesting story. I follow a few blogs that are self-revealing, and for the most part find them fascinating. Some of them are written by folks who know who they are, and some by folks who are still in the search mode. One such blog is written by a future Broadway playwright/actress/comedian who is deep into the self-discovery process.

At “Humans are Funny” (http://www.humansarefunny.com/) we have the delightful opportunity to share in that process of self-discovery. Sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, but always entertaining. I’ve been tempted to try to put some self-information into this space, but I’ve so far resisted lest I bore the few of you loyal readers. At one point in my past, I mentioned to some folks that I was interested in writing. I was advised to write about what I knew. I thought to myself, that would mean that I would have to write about working in an office. Not exactly “50 Shades of Mauve.” Although I suppose that working in an office for a gazillion years might be a study in masochism, but not the interesting kind. Which is why I’ve stayed with fiction, and not been tempted to delve into reality.

“Isn’t there anything about your past in your stories?” you ask.  Well I suppose that there must be something familiar, or else I’d be stuck working on a Martian canal boat. Of course that worked for Edgar Rice Burroughs, since I doubt that he actually traveled to mars or found a man who was raised by great apes.

Perhaps I should look into that new civilian launch system for the astronauts, or spend more time at the zoo. Oh well, in the meantime I’ll stick with the “Time Out” over at Kindle.