Truth vs. Fiction

 

It's no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction.

 Fiction has to make sense. - Mark Twain

Fellow writer Christian Frey is hosting the TRUTH vs. FICTION BLOG HOP and has invited me to join!  I’ve heard this topic discussed many times among writing groups and at conferences, and I’m always fascinated by what’s said because a lot of times truth is stranger than fiction.

I’m reading a wonderful book right now that uncovers some of the truths about spilling your heart onto the page. A dear friend gave it to me as a gift recently and I highly recommend that you pick up Writing 21st Century Fiction by Donald Mass—I can’t get enough of it!

There are two ways (I’ve learned) of putting truth into fiction. 

1. You use pieces of truth from everyday life.

Example – “Stop. Think. What's on your mind today? What question preoccupies you? What's the most recent lesson you've learned? Find a spot to give those thoughts to a character.” – Donald Mass on Writing 21^st Century Fiction 

2. You use life defining moments that have shaped you into who are, or you use the most painful ones.

Example – A previous manuscript I had written titled PROMISE was as close as it gets to a memoir for me. The idea came to me after I had a visit with my sister in Jail before she went off to prison. It was a long five hour drive home after our visit, so I had a lot of time to think. I tried to remember when we approached that fork in the road that had split us off into such different worlds. 

Number one is something I’ve learned more recently. It sounded simple to me at first, but when I actually sat down and tried to write it out, it became a different story—emotionless. Emotions are hard to weave onto the page, but if you do it well, readers will love you for it.

Try a simple exercise. Close your eyes for a moment and let the world zoom in around you. What do you see—feel? Your readers are going to open up your pages with their eyes closed. They don’t know the story you want to tell—help them open their eyes and their hearts to your words.

Here’s an example of some of my work where I used "Truth" and made it into "Fiction" while evoking emotions. My husband was injured on the job a while back. The ladder had given way and a nail entered his wrist leaving him dangling on a wall--I found a way to add the idea into my current work in progress.

Using Emotions and Truth – “Both of their screams radiate through the hotel and my nerves come undone. A faint fog inside my head blurs my vision and my ability to think clear. The thing yanks onto me as if I’m a dead body already being dragged toward its place of rest. My arm flops down beside me and I’m stopped by cold metal entering my wrist. He pulls on me again; I don’t move and scream out trying to unhook my wrist from a rusty nail."

 Using No Emotions or Truth – “Both of their screams radiate through the hotel. The thing yanks onto me again and drags me across the floor."

Number two can be difficult because it’s easy to take on a narrowed perspective. A lot of times writers will say, “But this really happened!” And they have a hard time zooming out. I’ve had this problem many times before and I’m learning that if I’m going to write something deeply personal, I need to understand how to step out of my cloud of truth and let the precipitation clear so I can see what’s truly going on in the fictional world I've created.

It takes tough skin to be a writer and you must be willing to open a vein and literally bleed truth into your fiction. What we do is important. Words have power. Use them carefully—use them beautifully, and be brave.   

What bits of truth are you turning into fiction?

If you would like to read more about Truth vs. Fiction, please visit the posts below...

MONDAY: Christian Frey weighs in on why in some cases she can’t reveal the real-life stories that inspired her fiction writing. Read Monday’s post »

TUESDAY: J.C. Lillis, YA author of How to Repair a Mechanical Heart, shares her Recipe for Truth-Infused Fiction Cakes. Yum. Read Tuesday’s post »

WEDNESDAY: JB Lynn, author of Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman, discusses Truth IN Fiction and asks ‘What truths are you trying to share?’ Read Wednesday’s post »


THURSDAY: Naomi Canale of Dreams Can Be Reached
YA writer represented by @BookaliciousPam

FRIDAY: Ksenia Anske of kseniaanske.com
A writer at heart and a social media marketer by trade, Ksenia is currently working on her first novel, Siren Suicides.