Writing about oneself objectively
I was recently updating some of my Stack Exchange profiles and I remembered how much I hate writing about myself. It isn't just Stack Exchange profiles either. It's resume cover letters. It's college application personal statements. It's blog and book jacket blurbs. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to come up with good things to say about myself and then when I do I have to be careful not to come off as arrogant. Now, I'm not asking for help overcoming my personal neurosis, but rather is there is an approach that will help me be objective when writing about myself and allow me to evaluate what to leave in and what to leave out?
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/44530. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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I guess this is more of a psychology question; but -- as a fiction writer -- you can try writing about a fictional character. Change your name!
It is a trick to distance yourself from the work; write about George or Mike instead of yourself, but using your own biography and accomplishments. In 1989, George did this; in 1991 George did that. Once you have described George well enough for readers to understand him; revise the profile, without adding or deleting anything, but to make it a first-person narrative.
As in fiction, to be realistic, George likely wouldn't reveal his worst flaws and sins up front. Everybody puts on their best face to meet strangers, and expects the same; so if you are completely honest and tell people you are "indecisive at times", they gather you are minimizing, and take it as a warning you are indecisive all the time, to the point you feel you need to warn people you are irritating.
I do a less extreme variation of this writing about my own past; I just imagine my past self as somebody I know, and have much in common with, but not the current me. Which I feel is true; I'm certainly a different person than I was as a teen, or soldier, or college student, etc.
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This is a big subject that probably can't be answered in a brief post, but some thoughts that come to mind:
Give objective facts, not subjective evaluations. For example, "I was valedictorian", not, "I was the smartest person in my class". Or, "I was responsible for managing the inventory for 20 stores", not "I was the only one who knew what was in the stores", etc. In general, avoid saying "I am/was the best ..." or "most important ..." or similar words. State the job responsibilities.
Don't be afraid to relate your accomplishments, but avoid overstating. "My re-organization plan saved the company $10 million", not "I saved the company."
Something I still struggle with: Should I mention honors or achievements that may be 100% factual, but just sound like bragging? Like I used to be a member of Mensa, the high IQ society. Should I say that, or tell what my score was on an IQ test? I generally don't, but I think that one is not clear-cut. In hazy cases like that, I think it might depend on how many other good things you can say about yourself. If you don't have easy-to-describe achievements -- whether projects completed on the job, sporting matches you've won, whatever is relevant -- I'd be more likely to include hazy things. If you've got plenty of clear-cut things, you don't need the debatable ones and can leave them out.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44542. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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