Life Writing: Third Lecture

Life Writing Genres

THIRD LECTURE

sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com education | storytelling | culture

LIFE WRITING EXAMPLES

sjoerd-jeroen moenandarmoenandar@gmail.com http://moenandar.blogspot.com

o Peter Mercurio: We Found Our Son in the Subway

o Dying for relief

oWho are you? Answer: Story of a life

oWe model our life stories on genres

oGenres: provide modles for life writing

IDENTITY AND GENRES

o Adventure storyo Story of ordealo Epos o Coming of age story

CLASSIC GENRE MODELS FOR LIFE WRITING

oMain character shows little development

o ‘Episodic plot’o 2 types:• The fantastic

voyage• The picaresque

ADVENTURE STORY

o Picaresque• The picaroon is outside

the existing order• ‘Lust for life’ of hostile

towards the world

o Fantastic voyage• Not main character but

the events and places make the story

STORY OF ORDEAL

FOUR STAGES PICARESQUE

1. Desire Conflict picaroon and outside world

2. Ability Picaroon comes up with a smart plan/trick

3. Action Performing the plan or trick4. Results Stupidity or corruption of the

system is proven

FOUR STAGES FANTASTIC VOYAGE

1. Desire Reason to go travelling (often not very special)

2. Ability Arrange ship, horse or spaceship

3. Action From island to island4. ResultsReturn home rich/

enriched (but not changed)

o Main character is tested

o 3 types:• External ordeal

(classic action story)• Inner test• An idea is tested

STORY OF ORDEAL

FOUR STAGES EXTERNAL ORDEAL

1. Desire Hero comes face to face with the ordeal

2. Ability Fix magic sword/ armor/gadgets

3. Action Kill the dragon, etc.4. Results Reward

FOUR STAGES INNER ORDEAL

1. Desire Hero comes face to face with the ordeal

2. Ability Praying/finding some inner strength/ meditation

3. Action Resist temptation4. Results Inner power is proven

FOUR STAGES OF TESTING AN IDEA

1. Desire Hero comes face to face with the antithesis of his/her own religion/ideology/etc.

2. Ability Find power in his/her own ideology/religion/etc.

3. Action Clash of ideas4. Results Superiority of his/her own

religion/ideology is proven

oMain character has a static identity

oMain character is centre of his/her own world

FOUR STAGES OF EPOS

1. Desire Hero comes face to face with the problem that his/her whole life led to.

2. Ability Can be anything: planning a revolution, raise an army, come up with a strategy, etc.

3. Action Problem is overcome4. Results And they lived happily ever after.

o Main character is not yet ‘ready’

o Goal main character: find him/herself and his/her place in the world

o Rise/fall hero

COMING OF AGE STORY

FOUR STAGES OF TESTING AN IDEA

1. Desire Main character does not fit in the world/is dissatisfied with his or her life

2. Ability Self reflection (and self doubt) 3. Action ‘Find him/herself’ by main

character4. Results Main character has found

him/herself and his/her place in the world (or: suicide)

EXERCISE 1

Plan how you would rewrite Mercurio’s story according to one of the genres.

What would the four stages look like? In which order would you tell the story?

You may invent details, fill in gaps with your imagination, but you have to follow the main story arc.

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