So interesting, Meta, that you tap into these dark corners we often repudiate.
In a novel I’m writing, I had to write a bit of a twisted, racy scene that was critical to the plot. I was conflicted on a couple of levels foremost that my mother might read the scene… I wrestled with that one for awhile;
the other concern was what would this element of the story reveal about me?
Would people perceive me as a a pervert? (However accurate that might be— ha ha) in the end I wrote it, I owned it and I think it was good for the story.
Perhaps fiction is too revelatory of truth. Maybe we can imbue fiction with truth by highlighting it with our own truths.
It’s worth thinking about in any case. Thanks for exploring another great corner of writing.
The reminder of being in control is something that resonated with me, as did slowly being more vulnerable and personable in my writing. Overall, great piece!!
I like what you said here about being vulnerable without spilling your guts (more than you would like to!). Keats had his concept of negative capability, to define the person who is comfortable with uncertainty and comfortable with a suppression of ego (I'm vastly paraphrasing). I think it's important to write in this mode, even when not writing content that, in itself, reveals private things about your life.
I'm going to be linking to this article in my workshop, Writing Fiction to Heal, because this exactly what I teach my students to do. Using our vulnerability and real-life events to shape and mold a fiction novel has so many healing benefits, it's insane. In all my work, I've actually found that my writers and students get more healing, catharsis, and longer lasting residue improvement in their lives when they choose to fictionalize things instead of going to memoir or essay writing (which I also highly encourage -- it is also very cathartic).
I'm not yet comfortable writing memoir - I'm working on fictional pieces. I have a writing teacher who pushes me to give my fictional characters all of my problems. And even my friends' problems. Those trust issues, emotional traumas, eating disorders, and other wounds reveal my characters' wants and needs which then drive the story into something uniquely theirs rather than mine. So I get some catharsis without revealing my personal story in detail.
At least with fiction there is wiggle room. I'm writing non-fiction and the expectation is that storytelling compiles you to tell your personal story. Gulp! It's not an easy path but hopefully if you choose to be a writer you have a perspective to enhance the details of your story that will enrich others.
No matter what your format, writing is your brains on paper, and that is intimidating for everyone.
We all see life through the filter of our perception. A writer absorbs the life around him/her, make it personal and recreate. How could we avoid putting our vulnerability on the page and stay authentic? At the end of the day, letting it all go (with plausible deniability of fiction) is what the writing about.
I remember a talk that Elizabeth Gilbert gave where she said, if you want to know what's really going on in someone's life, read their fiction. I think as writers that we have to be comfortable with quite a high level of sharing our lives. But as you say, we can decide where to draw the line. One of my writer friends says that putting your writing 'out there' is like walking down the street naked. Everyone can see what you've got and who you are!
So happy I found your newsletter. Thank you for sharing this!
I like Emerson’s take:
“Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures”
So interesting, Meta, that you tap into these dark corners we often repudiate.
In a novel I’m writing, I had to write a bit of a twisted, racy scene that was critical to the plot. I was conflicted on a couple of levels foremost that my mother might read the scene… I wrestled with that one for awhile;
the other concern was what would this element of the story reveal about me?
Would people perceive me as a a pervert? (However accurate that might be— ha ha) in the end I wrote it, I owned it and I think it was good for the story.
Perhaps fiction is too revelatory of truth. Maybe we can imbue fiction with truth by highlighting it with our own truths.
It’s worth thinking about in any case. Thanks for exploring another great corner of writing.
The reminder of being in control is something that resonated with me, as did slowly being more vulnerable and personable in my writing. Overall, great piece!!
I think I made up the ego part.
I like what you said here about being vulnerable without spilling your guts (more than you would like to!). Keats had his concept of negative capability, to define the person who is comfortable with uncertainty and comfortable with a suppression of ego (I'm vastly paraphrasing). I think it's important to write in this mode, even when not writing content that, in itself, reveals private things about your life.
It’s like living therapy out loud!😊
I'm going to be linking to this article in my workshop, Writing Fiction to Heal, because this exactly what I teach my students to do. Using our vulnerability and real-life events to shape and mold a fiction novel has so many healing benefits, it's insane. In all my work, I've actually found that my writers and students get more healing, catharsis, and longer lasting residue improvement in their lives when they choose to fictionalize things instead of going to memoir or essay writing (which I also highly encourage -- it is also very cathartic).
I'm not yet comfortable writing memoir - I'm working on fictional pieces. I have a writing teacher who pushes me to give my fictional characters all of my problems. And even my friends' problems. Those trust issues, emotional traumas, eating disorders, and other wounds reveal my characters' wants and needs which then drive the story into something uniquely theirs rather than mine. So I get some catharsis without revealing my personal story in detail.
At least with fiction there is wiggle room. I'm writing non-fiction and the expectation is that storytelling compiles you to tell your personal story. Gulp! It's not an easy path but hopefully if you choose to be a writer you have a perspective to enhance the details of your story that will enrich others.
No matter what your format, writing is your brains on paper, and that is intimidating for everyone.
We all see life through the filter of our perception. A writer absorbs the life around him/her, make it personal and recreate. How could we avoid putting our vulnerability on the page and stay authentic? At the end of the day, letting it all go (with plausible deniability of fiction) is what the writing about.
I remember a talk that Elizabeth Gilbert gave where she said, if you want to know what's really going on in someone's life, read their fiction. I think as writers that we have to be comfortable with quite a high level of sharing our lives. But as you say, we can decide where to draw the line. One of my writer friends says that putting your writing 'out there' is like walking down the street naked. Everyone can see what you've got and who you are!