In my opinion, trying to guess what readers want is the wrong approach. You have to tell your story as best you can and as true to yourself as possible. You have to be honest and fair and vulnerable and foolish and brave, and not care what anyone thinks of it.
Interpretation
Authenticity matters more than trying to cater to others' expectations in storytelling.
In this quote, Jeannette Walls emphasizes the importance of being true to oneself when sharing personal stories. Rather than attempting to predict or conform to the desires of an audience, she advocates for honesty and vulnerability, suggesting that the most genuine stories come from a place of courage and self-acceptance, regardless of external judgment.
In practice
In a writing workshop, to encourage participants to be true to themselves.
I was in control of what people thought of me, but I had no control over what they thought of my mother. When I asked my mother, 'How do I tell people about you?' her answer was, 'Tell the truth'. But of course, the truth is never simple.
I hadn’t been paying much attention to things like the sunrise, but that old sun had been coming up anyway. It didn’t really care how I felt, it was going to rise and set regardless of whether I noticed it, and if I was going to enjoy it, that was up to me.
Some people who've read my story think I had a terrible childhood and that I was neglected or even abused, while others feel that my parents, while certainly flawed, also had truly wonderful qualities. And that's the way it should be, because in real life two people can look at the same president and one will see a hero and the other a villain.
You can't cling to the side your whole life, that one lesson every parent needs to teach a child is "If you don't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim
When people kill themselves, they think they're ending the pain, but all they're doing is passing it on to those they leave behind.
I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on your toes.
So while you're imitating Al Capone, I'll be Nina Simone_x000D_ And defecating on your microphone.
You can't expect someone born into a family with no music...to understand when I'm conducting the Schönberg Variations.
The music was thunder and joy. Lightning bolts of happiness and praise, foot-stomping, dance-shouting, good-feeling singing from the soul.
Let me stop there, but my God, how beautiful Shakespeare is, who else is as mysterious as he is; his language and method are like a brush trembling with excitement and ecstasy. But one must learn to read, just as one must learn to see and learn to live.
Man must speak, then sing, then dance. The speaking is the brain, the thinking man. The singing is the emotion. The dancing is the Dionysian ecstasy which carries away all.
Once a novel gets going and I know it is viable, I don't then worry about plot or themes. These things will come in almost automatically because the characters are now pulling the story.
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