With this new biography I am writing of Jane, a very troubled soul who lives in our village, it is the first time I’ve ever had to take notes. Usually I write whatever comes into my head on the day, but now I’ve got to be disciplined and ask pertinent questions to make Jane’s story flow from childhood to adulthood in some sort of order. However, I had not bargained for Jane’s loquaciousness in wanting to tell all as any event from any age pops into her head.
To me it’s easy; you think back to your earliest memory and all the events surrounding it, and tell me all about it in a succinct way so that I can take bullet points. Apparently though, this seems about as far from Jane’s way of working as night is from day. I’m having to jump back and forth in time against my better judgement, but all the while try to bring her back to the time period in question.
She’s a lovely lady, but medications have made her brain work in a different way, and I realise I have got to go along with the flow. I’m a very organised person and usually my day is structured if there are no other appointments; from 07:45 – 08:30 I take a long walk, from 09:00 – 10:00 Jane comes to my house to work on the biography, from 10 – 13:30 I work for the NHS, from 13:30 – 14:00 I take another walk, and from 14:00 I work on my blogs and social media sites until 17:00 when I usually switch the computer off to prepare dinner and talk to Sam when he finishes work. Jane would carry on talking until 5pm if I let her, but I have to give myself time to make sense of my notes and type them up each day and also to have the evenings free for a late walk, to watch TV if there’s anything interesting on, or just to read or sit in the garden and do nothing on these warm summer evenings.
I haven’t written a biography before, and I have to get the facts right. I show Jane my typed notes the next day for her to verify the facts, but hey, bless her, she’s off on another tangent. This biography thing isn’t going to be as easy as I first thought, lol. But I’m nothing if not persistent; I’ll work it all out one way or another…
OIKOS™- Art, Books & more said:
I wish you good luck and best success, Stevie! Can i have a bit of your discipline? 😉 Best wishes, Michael
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Stevie Turner said:
Lol. I don’t know how to be disorganised…
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OIKOS™- Art, Books & more said:
Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Michael.
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dgkaye said:
Sounds like you have your work cut out of you Stevie. kudos for venturing into this writing ❤
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Debby. Yes, it’ll give me something to do during the long cold days of winter. x
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dgkaye said:
I look forward to reading it! x
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Stevie Turner said:
It’ll be a while yet, lol. x
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petespringerauthor said:
Working with someone who lacks structure and organization when you’re that way sounds challenging. Hopefully, she’ll adjust to your structured, time-efficient model over time. I have a couple of friends that sound a bit like Jane. They would stay on the phone for two hours if I didn’t stop them.
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Stevie Turner said:
Yes, Jane can talk for England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales…
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Phil Huston said:
“Apparently though, this seems about as far from MOST PEOPLES way of working as night is from day.”
Music. Words. We are forced to think in capsules and find interesting ways to tie them together in a sensical manner. Writing forces us to punctuate, breathe, watch the vine grow. Which is why I bust on time hopping. The unfortunate truth is that many educated, otherwise sensible, “normal” people, given the opportunity to unload themselves will come up with some pretty amazing off the wall shit. It can take a relative by marriage, a registered nurse, half a freaking day to tell a story about a relative’s motorcycle accident and brief hospital stay. Time bouncing, the whole “Jimmy who was begat by Papa Crandall who was Evelyn’s third born. they were from Jones, there, outside Edmond, and the motorcycle came from my other cousin Red..” The deal about recording and cataloging isn’t a bad idea. But then I used to have to catalog video takes – from day long shoots. Blooper notes, good bad lighting, performances, camera angles – all with time code references… So forget that, recording IS a bad idea.
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Stevie Turner said:
It doesn’t work for me, as I couldn’t bear to listen to it all again while trying to find the bit I wanted. I much prefer to write notes and type them up later on.
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Phil Huston said:
Yes, in real time you can turn on the BS filter and snag what’s important.
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Stevie Turner said:
Indeed.
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Clive said:
Jane sounds a real challenge, but I suspect some of that may be due to the fact that someone is taking an interest in her and her life, and that may well be a new thing for her. Have you thought about recording your conversations, if she would allow that? It would give you a back up to return to if you needed to make sense of the time jumps in her memory. Good luck!
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Stevie Turner said:
Good idea for some, but not for me. I prefer pen and paper!
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Clive said:
Stick with what’s best for you!
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WebbBlogs said:
Wow you have way more patience than I do. Maybe that’s why I have never written anything except my blog lol. It does seem like you are the perfect person to write her biography and I know you will do a wonderful job at it. 😁
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Stevie Turner said:
I’ll try…
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beetleypete said:
I have often thought about doing something similar, as I have a few friends who have led very interesting lives. But it is very time-consuming, as you are finding out. I have no doubt you will do justice to her life story though, Stevie.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Stevie Turner said:
I’ll try, lol. Be mindful that you’ve got to have permission from them in order to write it in the first place. Jane can’t wait for the book to be published, but it’s going to take some time before that happens.
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tidalscribe.com said:
That is quite a project to take on, we shall all look forward to hearing how it goes .
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Stevie Turner said:
Slowly at the moment, lol.
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Darlene said:
I applaud you for doing this. Have you thought of taping her conversations and you can sort through them later? They say it is good for our brain to do something quite different from time to time.
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Stevie Turner said:
I can’t work like that as it would take more time to listen through it all again. With written notes you can just look at the page and find what you want instantly.
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Darlene said:
That makes sense.
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