The Continuum of Truth in Fiction

We Probably Think Your Novel's About You

Hi friends,

In the query mines and in conversations with fiction writers, I hear a lot of:

based on real people/my life but I changed the names

this really happened!

I wrote a fictional memoir

This is #ownvoices

And it’s made me think a lot about what we put in our fiction that’s “real” and if, when, and how that matters. I wrote a full draft of this newsletter with a flip, no one cares!!! vibe, but that’s not totally true. Some people DO care if there is truth behind your fiction, but not usually in the ways most authors often think. Like most things, it’s a spectrum, a continuum of truth in fiction.

First off, let’s get one thing straight. There is no such thing as a “fictional memoir.” You are either writing a novel or a memoir and the entire world recognizes that all memoir includes some things that are reimagined or assumed or approximated and all dialog and events are not verbatim transcriptions of real life. We KNOW you’re making up the dialog!! It’s ok! Memoir is about your MEMORY of what happened—it says it right there in the name.

You could be writing a novel that reads like a memoir, but tbh, that’s just a novel because the best memoirs read like novels and it’s more a matter of structure and pacing and voice than these things are true and I can prove it. So stop saying “fictional memoir.” It’s not a thing.

You MIGHT be writing a novel where you have inserted things from your real life into the story, given characters dialog you said or wish you had, presented actions and events that DID happen, all while taking liberties with the facts in service of story and plot. That’s fine! Everyone does this! This is what I consider the low-stakes version of this really happened to me fiction writing. We all do it to some extent when we write fiction. We’ve heard write what you know (which is and isn’t good advice!), and well, what do you know better than the things that actually happened to you?

I am writing this as a person whose novel is based on something my great grandmother wrote. It’s part of my pitch! But early on, I learned to only briefly mention that part, and get into the meat of the story, which is not based on my great grandmother and didn’t happen to me or anyone I know and only contains a modest amount of comebacks I wish I’d said in the heat of the moment or little observations I think are interesting. It is NOT the main selling point of my novel, I think. It is just one of the many jumping off points I used to actually write the damn thing. No one cares about my great grandmother more than me, because she is my great grandmother. The personal aspect is not my hook. It’s just a small part of the whole.

With this low-stakes, real life in fiction part, I’m sorry to tell you: no one cares more than you. Most of the time, the reader doesn’t care that it happened to you. They just care if it’s interesting to THEM. You don’t have to include 1000 disclaimers assuring me you’ve changed all the names. I am not worried you’re going to get sued for writing a character that’s mostly like your jerk boss. It’s fine. It’s normal. It’s most times unremarkable.

But there’s another end of the spectrum where is DOES matter if your personal experience is reflected in your fiction. You’ve probably seen the hashtag #ownvoices. Maybe you’ve used it—correctly or incorrectly! This was coined by writer Corrine Duyvis on twitter to highlight kids books “about diverse characters written by authors from that same diverse group.” I’ve seen books about gluten free characters hashtagged #ownvoices, and while I am far from the boss of this hashtag, that’s not it, imho. #Ownvoices does not just signify THIS IS REAL AND I AM ALLOWED TO WRITE ABOUT IT. It guides readers to books and authors who are authentically relating an experience often ignored or marginalized by mainstream publishing and culture. If something is tagged #ownvoices, it can matter if those events really happened to the author, if the story was taken from real life. But guess what! It doesn’t have to and it’s not required. Whether the events of an #ownvoices novel actually, physically happened to the author or not, it doesn’t matter. The author is writing from their experience. And if they wanted to write a memoir, they could. This is the high-stakes real life in fiction end of the spectrum.

What does this mean for you, average writer of fiction? It means, nine times out of ten, the reader does not care if the events of your novel really happened to you. The reader assumes at least a small part of your novel really happened to you, and it doesn’t matter what part and in doesn’t correlate—good or bad—to the reader’s enjoyment of the novel. An agent or an editor doesn’t care that much if events in your novel really happened to you UNLESS you are writing an #ownvoices novel, and if you are unsure of whether your novel “counts” as #ownvoices, then it probably doesn’t. Are you writing about a marginalized group and are you part of that marginalized group? Then your book might be #ownvoices. And you don’t have to tag it as such if you don’t want to! It’s not required! It’s just a tool, there if you need or want it.

Try not to over think the line between fact and fiction. Put whatever you want into your books, more or less. Remember that you care way more about how your book was created than the reader. In the end, just write your book.

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XOOXX,

Kate