If somewhere in your heart you think writing about yourself is braggadocio and puffery, self importance and sinful pride–all the Me, Myself and I of it–-try writing in the third person.
For example: He quit college to work and help out his family. He fell in love, got married, and went off to war. She was a dance instructor who always took jobs at the schools where her children would get the best education. From elementary school through college, they were able to drop their books in her office and visit during the day.
Or, pretend you’re writing a blurb for “TV Guide†describing this week’s episode. “Marcia falls in love with an island while on vacation and figures out a way to stay.â€
It feels funny to put down a version of your life in an “as told by†fashion. But it’s another way of looking. New eyes.
This is a very useful tip for overcoming that ‘block’ on writing about yourself, as it really does enable you to get the emotions out of the situation. It helps with perspective and sometimes even enables you to see a lot more around a situation with some quite surprising results.
Thank you, for that, it is really useful, Good advice simple way of talking about your life. I have yet to put down my story but it will be better now in the 3rd person.
Kind Regards John Wilson
I find this useful when writing, I also use a more detatched pros for family members, like Marge was born instead of Mom was born, however as I become emersed in the story I find myself slipping into the I -me emotional tense. The problem is finding a good balance where the “characters” stay real and the story accurately depicts why they are who they are by the emotions of the story.