For Fiction to Work, You Must Know Your Truth

I have helped many middle school and high school students hone their fiction writing skills through private tutoring and supplemental educational programs. Fiction writing was, for many of them, a struggle. Many viewed this practice as antithetical to the pursuit of education, given what they understood as the nature of fiction writing.

I have a theory about fiction. For fiction to work, you must know your truth.

When reading and critiquing students' work, I would often sit down with them, one-on-one, and ask them how the story they wrote conveys their truth. Not surprisingly, this inquiry would often provoke questioning and confused looks from the student.

To clarify, I would ask, "What is it about this story that is truthful?"

"I don't know, it's fiction. I made it up."

"There's nothing about this story that speaks to something that you know to be true, either through experience or education?"

"What does that matter. It's fiction."

What these students didn't realize was that fiction is a form of truth-telling. The storyline, the characters, the setting - these may all be fictitious in the sense that they have not or do not exist in the world as we know it, but ask any author and they will tell you from whence these fictitious elements came.

The fiction of authors comes from a place of personal truth, a yearning to tell a story so that these kernels of truth can be shared in a way that is both entertaining and evocative. 

And why, you may ask, do I use phrases such as "personal truth" and "what you know to be true," rather than "facts?" The answer is that each and every one of us experiences the world differently. Facts are facts, these are not subject to interpretation. But how we perceive the world, the value we add to what we observe, these behaviors create a personal truth about the world for every individual.

Sharing your personal truth and relating to the truth of others is part of the craft of being a writer. But first, you must know yourself and you must know your truth.

In Kabale, Uganda. As a researcher, I am humbled to have the opportunity to hear others' personal truths.

I use these three tactics for finding my personal truth:

1) Journal Pick a thought or action that is particularly interesting to at the moment. Maybe it's something that happened that day, maybe it's something you've been thinking about for a while. Hash it out in your journal. Your thoughts on paper may surprise you.

2) Make Lists Choose a category and simply write the first 20 things that come to mind. Your category may be serious ("Things of Which I Am Terrified") or light-hearted ("Things That Always Make Me Smile"). The point is to reach into places in yourself that have not been called upon to speak up.

3) Practice Honesty This is not a writing exercise, but rather a challenge to be mindful of your truth in everyday activities and decision-making. Why do you make the decisions you do? Would you have made a different decision under different circumstances? How does your decision affect you? Others?

Try these out for a while and see how your writing changes as you learn more about yourself. Infuse your writing with your truth and you'll notice how much more interesting and magnetic your writing
feels.