Write what you know… or don’t?
I’ve heard many things regarding this. The do’s the dont’s and the what-not’s.
Recently I’ve started working on a new WIP, where the main character has no recollection of their past, a sort of dissociative amnesia (or so it’s diagnosed that way). I’m having fun with this character, being able to relate to them. Since he has no recollection of his past he’s able sorta start over, without the burden of his past, without the memories, and no foundation. You pick up and start over with no ties.
It’s a nice feeling to have but every so often I find myself with a slight sense of envy. There are certain things that are alien to me (ha, pun intended). Friends that have relationships that span over the course of their youth, close ties with their parents… are things I haven’t experienced. Yes, this mostly has to do with my habit of burning bridges, but it doesn’t mean I’m entirely dead inside or don’t yearn for these long-term relationships. Not entirely a romantic one but a kinship.
“Yes, you have very selective memory.” I remember @snowppl saying.
I’m not entirely sure if this was you don’t really have that bad of memory and BSing or you’re a freak with memory purging abilities. Eh, I’ll take the latter.
Like I told him before, if I try hard enough I’m sure I can retrieve old memories. The thing is, I really don’t want to. If they’re buried, they’re buried for a reason. I have no desire to know how deep this rabbit hole goes. A part of me rationalizes that I have nothing(no one?) significant to tie the memories to.
“How long have you known Drew?” I asked Kathy.
“I know him as ANDREW and I’ve known him since he was straight,” Kathy responds. She chuckles at her quip comment. “So, since freshman in high school.”
I’m not sure I’ve known anyone that long. I’ve known Romeo maybe 8 years. The friend that recently resurfaced and began to rekindle our friendship. That’s it. If it wasn’t for him I’d say zero. LOL. He’s my only connection to my past and I must praise him for not only putting up with me for as long but understanding my memory issues.
Funny, as I type that last paragraph I want to recall how long we were on a ‘break’ and I think it was two years? So, this ghost from my past Romeo has come back. It’s great to have him back, still feeling out our friendship, but for the most part we’re good.
A friend of mine from years ago (cuz I’ve obviously stopped talking to them with my pyro tendencies), said that relationships have a shelf-life. That it wasn’t entirely a bad thing but some things just… expired. Their usefulness ran out; was the way it went through my mind although I know she did not intend it this way.
Burn them before they burn you was another way someone put it.
Anyway.
This was a way to voice my lack of foundation for many things. This is why my twitter bio says I’m a social nomad extraordinaire; I’ve yet to find out where this is all going. For many reasons I feel I don’t belong, not just my lack of attachments, but because of who I am. It’s easier for me to say (tongue In cheek of course) that I’m an alien, waiting to go back home… waiting for that mothership. The image on this new blog layout never seemed so appropriate. Apart from the mothership thing being a running joke among my friends, it’s sorta a comforting thought for me whenever I’m feeling down or like I don’t belong that I’ll eventually find my place. The memory purging will cease and I will call ‘this’ or ‘that’ place home.
So. This is why I write what I know, cuz I may forget later 😛
We must hail from similar planets… I know the feeling.
I have many, many friends I’ve known for a long time, but the longest is my friend Jordan, whom I call Jord. Or sometimes Jorda (there was this weird phase where we twitched the endings of our names…not sure why)
I first met Jord in grade two. I don’t remember meeting him. Like anything in someone’s life for that amount of time, they sort of just always are ‘there’. There isn’t really a beginning, and as we motor through the years, we think there will be no end. They become a permanent fixture. Jord is my permanent fixture, something akin to liking licorice and scary movies, he’s something that has always been around. Though to be honest, I didn’t get really ‘close’ to Jord until grade 8…and by grade eleven I was hauling his drunk ass home and watching shooting stars in the back alley near our houses. He lived down the block from me. I would have to say, he probably knows me the best…I remember so many heart-to-hearts with him-back when I used to divulge all the inner workings of my cobweb filled mind.
That said, I do believe in writing what you know. It usually comes out more honest and readable. Not saying you HAVE too. Lord knows I’ve wrote a million things I don’t know about, for instance I’ve never been a pirate, or an immortal Soul Protector, hard to believe, isn’t it?
Good blog, Brandanski!