Viewing your life as a narrative....

[Peegee]

....is something I do, yet think it is a very irresponsible thing. Do you do it though?

What I mean is this: you take the documented and fictionalized (memories are largely fictionalized reconstructions of the past) information that your memories and what-not has compiled, and you make a story out of it. Then, due to human frailties or limitations, you assign some sort of literary device or plot device to string the events together. Maybe if I told you mine it would make sense...then again..

I could string my life along as the struggles of a stupid kid who wasn't taught much and was led astray. I think that's a very apt summary of the point I want to bring up. My philosophical and outlook change when I was 24 years old or whatever is a good changing point. My rejection of organized religion would be another.

Depending on your age, this may be almost a mandatory way to make sense out of some x number of years of memories. Or you can reject it all. As I said, it is pretty irresponsible to just ignore large portions of your immediate motivations for the expressed purpose of an objective narrative's coherency. For example my rejection of religion wasn't motivated by seeking the truth, but mostly because I was too lazy to go to church. It wasn't until much later that I formally rejected the God hypothesis, drawing upon arguments like 'I don't see evidence' and 'the evidence people provide me aren't sufficient': both ideas being thoughts that didn't even occur to me at 17 of age.

On the other hand, not knowing my immediate motivations at various points in my life, how else am I supposed to make sense of my entire life? What do you do (or what else can you do), if you don't write your story as a silly movie screenplay?

[The Ceej]

Uhh... Okay.

Yeah. You can do that. You can even take creative liberties. I don't see anything wrong with it. Go ahead and actually write it if you feel the need. You have a much better chance of getting it made during this writer's strike.

Speaking of which, let me find a good show which is still on the air and write an episode. What am I saying? There are no good shows still on the air.

[Peegee]

I'm not asking to make my boring life into a movie or show. I'm asking whether viewing your life as a narrative is a productive use of your time or worth doing due to the inaccuracies inherent to both memories and using literary devices.

A nice example is whether History books are a waste of people's time for the same reason. Specifically unless you are insanely objective or neutral, the historical recantation seems to be very inaccurate (not to point fingers intentionally but the Bible isn't historically accurate in places -- like who won wars, apparently)

[The Ceej]

I know what you were asking. I was just adding that if you were going to do that, you might as well write it and have it made.

I understand that there would be inaccuracies, but that doesn't mean you can't do it.

I have a saying, "If I don't remember it, it never happened." It also goes for things I remember differently than otheres. It happened the way I remember it. So, maybe it would be inaccurate, but you don't have to admit it. In short, I'm all for your doing this. Write it or not, look at your life as a narrative.

As for its productivity, it's more productive if you write it, but go ahead and do it anyway.

[No.78]

YES. No seriously, I totally do that.

[Old Manus]

It's called a diary, btw.

[Roto13]

It's called a diary, btw.

xP

[Griff]

I view my life more as a television show than a narrative. Heck, sometimes I address the audience for no apparent reason. so far no one has called me on breaking the fourth wall.

[Arc_Master_14]

i don't make it a story i just have a personal dialogue running trough my head

[Vincent, Thunder God]

Oh sure, I write in a journal from time to time and I wanted to find a way to translate my experiences into a novel perhaps, but I don't think it'd be an autobiography, I'd incorporate it into a dramatic fiction novel, creating characters to substitute myself and family.

[Aerith's Knight]

i view my life as a monty python movie.. it makes no sense.. people laugh, but its just not funny.. and if you were asked to describe it, youd say: "its impossible, you'll just have to watch it."

[Roto13]

Oh sure, I write in a journal from time to time and I wanted to find a way to translate my experiences into a novel perhaps, but I don't think it'd be an autobiography, I'd incorporate it into a dramatic fiction novel, creating characters to substitute myself and family.

Armistead Maupin. :P

[Vincent, Thunder God]

Oh sure, I write in a journal from time to time and I wanted to find a way to translate my experiences into a novel perhaps, but I don't think it'd be an autobiography, I'd incorporate it into a dramatic fiction novel, creating characters to substitute myself and family.

Armistead Maupin. :P

I'd actually never heard of him before (and went to Wikipedia), but if he can use that concept to good effect, I can too.