"The fictional account of my stories may have greater emotional truth than the factual ones." I couldn't agree more... I think fiction allows us to explore complex emotions in a way that is tough to do in memoir. Self-censorship (is this too raw? too much? does it feel forced? TMI?) is hard to avoid (particularly when the narrative involves others). Then, there's the matter of feeling obliged to stick to the 'truth' even when we all know memory and truth-telling are notoriously fallible. Crafting a piece of fiction allows us to figure out the best way to actually make the point we want to make - particularly when that point is messy/emotional/drawn in shades of grey. In fiction, nobody can point to a passage/scene/conversation and say, "That's not how it happened." But if we do our jobs well, the reader should be able to imagine themselves as a fly on the wall and believe that the story unfolding could, in fact, have happened as we describe. When the scene/story/novel is emotionally-rich, what better way to connect with the reader on the other side of the page?
Wow, we vibe hard on this one, Mary. The seeds of your life that get planted in fiction are REAL and TRUE. Even if you think you're writing about totally fictitious people and situs, you're embedding your soul in it. The Abbot quote hit me hardest here. That's the thing about Writer's Life--it's just life, played out on the page.
I don't read much memoir or autofiction, but what you say makes a lot of sense. This made me think, for some reason, of the ridiculous woke idea that novelists should only write about things they know from experience. If you take that to its logical extreme, all of us can write only about ourselves. Fiction, including autofiction, enables us to get a glimpse of other people's lives and viewpoints, and serves as a way of bridging the gaps between human beings.
Another brilliant piece and to readers out there, read Mary's work for its beauty and for its truth. The Burglar is one of my favourites.
Fiction liberated my writing. With memoir, I always felt that someone was peering over my shoulder telling me no, the date is the 1st not the 2nd and it's cheesecake not a blueberry muffin. Stressful.
You ask poignant questions.
If we dismiss out of hand close-to-the-bone, self-revelatory fiction, don’t we miss truths that would otherwise remain unspoken?
Jan 19, 2023·edited Jan 19, 2023Liked by <Mary L. Tabor>
I think Ocean Vuong’s work of fiction, ‘On Earth we’re Briefly Gorgeous’ is another good example of a fictionalized autobiographical novel that may be closer to one’s emotional truth that a memoir might be.
"The fictional account of my stories may have greater emotional truth than the factual ones." I couldn't agree more... I think fiction allows us to explore complex emotions in a way that is tough to do in memoir. Self-censorship (is this too raw? too much? does it feel forced? TMI?) is hard to avoid (particularly when the narrative involves others). Then, there's the matter of feeling obliged to stick to the 'truth' even when we all know memory and truth-telling are notoriously fallible. Crafting a piece of fiction allows us to figure out the best way to actually make the point we want to make - particularly when that point is messy/emotional/drawn in shades of grey. In fiction, nobody can point to a passage/scene/conversation and say, "That's not how it happened." But if we do our jobs well, the reader should be able to imagine themselves as a fly on the wall and believe that the story unfolding could, in fact, have happened as we describe. When the scene/story/novel is emotionally-rich, what better way to connect with the reader on the other side of the page?
Wow, we vibe hard on this one, Mary. The seeds of your life that get planted in fiction are REAL and TRUE. Even if you think you're writing about totally fictitious people and situs, you're embedding your soul in it. The Abbot quote hit me hardest here. That's the thing about Writer's Life--it's just life, played out on the page.
I don't read much memoir or autofiction, but what you say makes a lot of sense. This made me think, for some reason, of the ridiculous woke idea that novelists should only write about things they know from experience. If you take that to its logical extreme, all of us can write only about ourselves. Fiction, including autofiction, enables us to get a glimpse of other people's lives and viewpoints, and serves as a way of bridging the gaps between human beings.
Another brilliant piece and to readers out there, read Mary's work for its beauty and for its truth. The Burglar is one of my favourites.
Fiction liberated my writing. With memoir, I always felt that someone was peering over my shoulder telling me no, the date is the 1st not the 2nd and it's cheesecake not a blueberry muffin. Stressful.
You ask poignant questions.
If we dismiss out of hand close-to-the-bone, self-revelatory fiction, don’t we miss truths that would otherwise remain unspoken?
We sure do.
Thanks again, Mary xo
I think Ocean Vuong’s work of fiction, ‘On Earth we’re Briefly Gorgeous’ is another good example of a fictionalized autobiographical novel that may be closer to one’s emotional truth that a memoir might be.