Biographical meme
Saturday, 11 February, 2006
I had this idea for a meme. I thought it would be really cool if people wrote out their life story—not novel-length and incredibly detailed but just something that highlights the major events in your life, major turning points, things that greatly influenced you, things that show how you got from then to here. As well as the basic biographical information that you somehow never get around to finding out, e.g. where you were born, how many brothers and sisters you have and where you rank in the age hierarchy, where you grew up, etc. I was thinking that you could know someone for ages but not know things about their life history—things about what makes them who they are. When I went to Canberra to visit Deb with Ben and Lorien, I was surprised to discover that they didn't know my parents are divorced. I know I only know them from the internet (and therefore how much of a friendship can you have with people that you only know from the internet) but still it was just amazing to me that something so significant to my life had never been disclosed to them.
I will think about doing mine later.
Blinks:
A way of funding writing in the future: pitch and idea and get people to support it.
Place where you can hire play equipment for parties, etc.
How to recalibrate the home button on your iPhone.
Unsolicited manuscripts accepted by Pan Macmillan with certain conditions.
Thought Balloon is a group blog in which the writers tackle a new theme every week? month? with one-page scripts. This URL is for their Phonogram ones.
How to sew a zipper on a knitted garment.
Issues organised by tale.
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the thing is, how do you decide what those things are?
or not so much decide, as bring them to mind. it seems to me that you only realise what the things are that you think most people should already know about you, at those surprising moments when you realise that they don’t know X, Y, Z.
How do you know what they are? Well, you start with the basic information—where you were born, who is in your family, where you grew up, etc.—and then, with the benefit of hindsight, you can see definite turning points or influences in your life. You may not be able to cover everything but it will open up avenues for people to ask you questions.