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do you keep a notebook or a diary? i still have mine from high school. but lately, i have become very dependent on evernote. i throw everything into it and i like using it for free-writing. i have this dream of having song ideas and writing concepts tagged with certain moods or characters so they can be easily searchable. has that happened yet? nope. it sounded good in my head.
i think writing things down helps you remember things, but also who you are in the moment of your remembering. it’s not always the most factual re-telling but you collect bits and pieces from reality to build your story – whether it is for fiction or for your own memories. i have some memories where i have added props, characters, and lines that are maybe true. you know… maybe we didn’t eat catfish on 4th of july in 1993 but that’s how i remember it – a kind of harmless fiction. they help me remember how i felt, how i saw it all.
but joan didion really says it best. read the whole essay. i heard about it on brain pickings.
