I can't begin to count the number of times a student has
read out a story in class and I have said I'm
not sure that bit where John meets up with Jenny after thirty years really works
(or words to that effect) and the student has said, Aah, but you see, that actually happened…
I know that truth is stranger than fiction etc etc, but its
very strangeness can put a strain on the believability of the story you are
trying to tell. Just because something
happened doesn't necessarily make it plausible in narrative terms, or dramatic,
or interesting and if an incident doesn't tick all three of these boxes, then
it's not worth having in your book.
I think it can be one of the dangers of drawing on your own
experience too literally. When people
advise you to write about what you know, I think it's best to interpret that as
writing with emotional authority and experience, rather than just reproducing
an event without properly calibrating it so that it enhances your narrative,
rather than detracting from it.
No comments:
Post a Comment