Liars and Saints

I’m no expert here. I wish I had more real-world stories; I wish more things happened to me. But I do have a few thoughts, if you’re interested in telling a story from your life. One thing that helps me is ridiculousness. My character--the version of me I tend to write about--is a little bit effete and pretentious. So it helps to pair that character with an opposite--i.e. a baby or a dog. (Yes, I do think about this stuff.) Having the effete guy watch a Barbara Stanwyck movie while a dog gnaws on a bone, in the background....this seems inherently fun, at least to me. A story has a setting, rising action, and a climax. Writing about Salvy, I placed events on a “cold, dark night,” because (a) that’s the truth and (b) I liked having a “fairy-tale” atmosphere. The rising action: a stubbed toe, a tearful phone call. And I think the climax in almost any personal story comes from reflection. You’re not writing a spy story; you’re writing about your life, and so the exciting things will ...

In the spirit of Nora Ephron, not because I'm dying, but just because these lists seem useful to me: (1) Almost the entirety of the Mariah Carey Christmas album (the exception is "I Miss You Most on Christmas Day," which seems to have been written by committee). (2) The opening of "Ramona the Brave," where Ramona thinks that she is assisting her sister and is in fact making a small problem worse. This is the story of my life, this idea of seeing oneself one way and then being confronted with objective truths. Also, I like that Ramona imagines that having an unwieldy nickname might be "interesting." Problems--bits of drama--often *are* interesting, though we don't want to admit this. (3) Meatballs--which you can make in a Crock Pot. Additionally, I'll miss almost any Crock Pot recipe that requires five ingredients or fewer. (4) My husband, in part because he occasionally invents bizarre, seemingly pointless stories--for fun. This is what...