I draw on my own life experiences (with those in my orbit), even in my genre fiction. And auto-fiction, memoir, is a minefield, but I wade in, compelled to purge myself of the old hurt. I write now because of the girlfriend who 'was a bitch,' or the sibling who was insensitive, or the parent who was distant. This is my furnace. Take 'Thi…
I draw on my own life experiences (with those in my orbit), even in my genre fiction. And auto-fiction, memoir, is a minefield, but I wade in, compelled to purge myself of the old hurt. I write now because of the girlfriend who 'was a bitch,' or the sibling who was insensitive, or the parent who was distant. This is my furnace. Take 'This Boy's Life' by Tobias Wolff. Young Toby would never have gone on to write so vividly if not for Dwight. Toby would never have left the town of Cement if not for Dwight. If he'd had a different step father, a more balance one, there would never have been 'This Boy's Life.' Toby would have settled down and went to work in the factory or the lumber mill. Apologies to Tobias Wolff if I get any of this wrong, but to write his memoir, Wolff needed releases from the people he wrote about. And he would never get a release from Dwight. He had to wail till Dwight was no more. One way around this, however, is to just change the names and places, etc.
I draw on my own life experiences (with those in my orbit), even in my genre fiction. And auto-fiction, memoir, is a minefield, but I wade in, compelled to purge myself of the old hurt. I write now because of the girlfriend who 'was a bitch,' or the sibling who was insensitive, or the parent who was distant. This is my furnace. Take 'This Boy's Life' by Tobias Wolff. Young Toby would never have gone on to write so vividly if not for Dwight. Toby would never have left the town of Cement if not for Dwight. If he'd had a different step father, a more balance one, there would never have been 'This Boy's Life.' Toby would have settled down and went to work in the factory or the lumber mill. Apologies to Tobias Wolff if I get any of this wrong, but to write his memoir, Wolff needed releases from the people he wrote about. And he would never get a release from Dwight. He had to wail till Dwight was no more. One way around this, however, is to just change the names and places, etc.
Thanks for your article.