Comments | amri: August 2009 Week One; Brigit's Flame

amri

August 2009 Week One; Brigit's Flame

Aug 02, 2009 22:27

For: brigits_flame
Prompt: Smoke and Mirrors
Date: August 2009 Week One
FYI: Behind a cut to save friends' lists.
A/N: This is a true story. This is not told for sympathy. It is a tale of survival.I come from West Virginia. I wasn’t born there but I lived there long enough to call it home. I did a lot of things in my life because it was expected. Marry ( Read more... )

fire, brigit's flame, non-fiction

Comments 21

cedarwolfsinger August 11 2009, 02:32:58 UTC

Thank you for sharing this with us. It is very well written -- I can only imagine how hard it was to write and re-live thereby. Good luck!

amri August 11 2009, 20:57:29 UTC

Thank you very much for the compliments! Wow. I can't believe the attention this is getting.

katden August 11 2009, 20:10:33 UTC

You really muted the danger and the panic here, which served to spotlight the realistic way you dealt with the situation you faced. I'm thankful you made it out!!! I love that you did a non fiction piece, but what a great inspiration for fiction!!!
Best of luck!!

amri August 11 2009, 20:57:01 UTC

When I think about that night, I don't remember the danger or panic. It's probably a small blessing.

Thank you for the compliments! This non-fiction piece is the most attention I've gotten. Maybe I outta write more non-fiction!

katden August 11 2009, 21:05:46 UTC

(My exact reaction for those July entries I submitted!)

I suppose our true voice is so tangible in non-fiction(?) It was also a huge boost to get my creative juice flowing!!

I'm glad you wrote this!

astraevirgo August 13 2009, 03:28:14 UTC

I really enjoyed your story. I always enjoy true stories, especially when they're standing in for larger themes -- like your author note said, this is a story of survival.

Have you ever considered universalizing your story? You speak to your own experience, which is great, but have you ever considered speaking to human experience as you go? I'm not explaining this very well, but I mean the structure of stories as they appear in the radio show "This American Life" -- it shows how ordinary people are extraordinary, and I think this is a candidate for showing how extraordinary you are.

amri August 13 2009, 03:34:36 UTC

No, I haven't thought about really doing anything with it. The experience stays with me and proves to me how strong I can be when I'm down.

But you have a good idea. I never expected this kind of response when I wrote it. It's all very breathtaking.

Thank you very much for your comments.

Editing cedarwolfsinger August 15 2009, 04:23:32 UTC

Hello, I am one of your editors for this week. Please note - I go paragraph by paragraph because that makes sense to me. Also - all my “changes” are merely suggestions. Take from them whatever makes sense to you and disregard whatever does not suit you ( ... )