I remember writing in my journal about six or seven years ago about how charmed my life was and how it would be very difficult for me to find anything to write about because of my lack of drama. I blame my character. I'm not overly passionate in regards to lust or money or friends. I take a back seat to gossip. I'm just really easy going. Does this make me a boring writer? Shakespeare would not have been in my circle of friends.
However, a quick weekend trip to my home town has provided me with layers and layers of drama. Not my own, just the information that met me there.
What to do with all of these exciting pieces of inspiration? I want to write stories where characters are plotting divorces, affairs of the juiciest kind and family revenge. Just one problem. I feel bad. I feel as if I'm going against my moral fibre by telling their stories. I don't even know their entire story and I can't get their character outside of my mind. I feel as if I can only tell them in the context that they're in and am unable to separate fact from fiction. I thank my old friends for providing me with lots to write about. But how can I use their stories to tell new ones?
I am mostly distanced from these people, but I did know them at one time. I am sorry for their misfortune and there is a small amount of guilt for using their lives as inspiration for my art.
Does anyone else experience this? Do you want to write about someone but feel a twang of guilt for using someone's misery as your ammunition?
I don't think I have ever experienced your moral dilemma as a writer, Nicole, mainly because I am not moved to write about other people's problems in any immediate way and also because, having a poor short term memory, I often forget in pretty short order what I have been told in the way of gossip about others. It makes me a good receptacle for confidences as I usually forget them before I could possibly betray them!
ReplyDeleteBut I do believe that to fictionalize (is that a word?) real life people and their situations / interactions / problems, etc. is fair game for the writer. It might be useful to disguise the people and situations sufficiently that they would not be recognized, however, especially if the work gets published and might be read by the folks on whom you have based your characters. When Farley Mowat first wrote his novels about the life of fishermen from the outports of Newfoundland, such as A Whale for the Killing, he made enemies of many of his subjects. His very honest descriptions were too close to home for the inhabitants not to resent. But he outlived their resentment and provided the rest of the reading public with a much clearer insight into the circumstances of people in that part of the world. So I say, go for it. The insights you share with your readers may well outweigh any grief you might accidentally bring your subjects if you publish them.
Thank You for this Mike. I think I will use these situations as a starting point, disguised of course, and see where it takes me. Who knows, maybe it will end up so different from the point of conception that no one will suspect a thing.
ReplyDeleteUnclear of the moral aspect. Sounds like life to me.
ReplyDeleteAffairs,guilt,divorce,family,& friends drama.
I would assume you are not going to expose anyone directly.Perhaps removing yourself from the emotional ties & view as material,building blocks for charactors.This helps me,however now I am worring about my moral fibre.
I started journalling at 18( a mere 30 years ago!), now 80 journals later...still haven't' figured it all out' but journalling is a natural tool for the writer and was definitely a vehicle for me to discover, in greater depth, my love of word weaving but even more basic than that it allows me to explore and appreciate the inner workings of the heart, mind and soul. An ongoing journey of growth and humility to be sure and sometimes I suck at it...
ReplyDeleteI think it's all fair game, as long as it's appropriately disguised. When I worked at the newspaper in Smithers, it was the most dis-functional situation that I've ever seen. At one meeting, I started laughing and said "This will make great material for a novel one day." It was followed by a rather awkward silence before everyone shifted slightly so their backs were toward me. Ooops. They didn't see the humour in it. I learned that it is probably a good idea to keep such thoughts to oneself, but I still plan to use some of their quirkier characteristics as fodder.
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