lying or editing?

[jezzicuh]

(Originally published at Pith and Vinegar: blog version.)

So it is time for me to fess up: not all of my personal anecdotes are 100% true. I mean, often they are, but sometimes I rearrange events or add a little character motivation or occasionally insert that line that I SHOULD have said but didn’t. I had someone earlier this week say that that

Comments

[capnexposition]

Well, I sit on a funny sort of fence on this.As you know, I'm pretty emphatic in my belief in the value of honesty. On the OTHER hand, I believe that any story worth telling is worth telling well. I guess it comes down to what you market yourself and your writing as. If you declare yourself as a nonfiction, "slice of life" writer talking about the ups and downs of your daily life, you owe it to your audience to not spin tales out of whole cloth. That doesn't mean write in a dry, reporting "just the facts, ma'am" style, though. Any good recounting of what happens in your life can be spiced up with some evocative detail, or just some of your internal monologue as you're interacting with someone. The truth is never boring, when told well.