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John P. Weiss's avatar

Yes, for me it’s the writer’s voice that either appeals or not. And for the ones I do like, the subjects may range and jump from fiction to non-fiction, and even the tone and mood may vary, but beneath it all is the writer’s voice. The writer’s unique essence. Like a Bukowski poem, for example. I know that voice. But developing one’s own unique voice…therein lies the challenge.

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Jill's avatar

This rings up off the page, Charles, and it rings TRUE. War and Peace is better than all the 1812 facts you can find. And this: “If I read a memoir, I am drawn to the person ... and how this person decides to present themselves is what I find interesting—not whether they’ve selected actual facts.”

It’s a much more pithy expression of what I was trying to say in a few pieces (Wordsmoke and On a train in upstate NY: “I aim for fiction, and sometimes fall short, lacking imagination, constrained to my one body and definitely not zen-like enough.”)

Let’s normalise fictionalised memoir - since the best fiction reads autobiographically anyway.

🎯 You nailed it.

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