Writing about Me, Me, Me

It's a question that writers get asked a lot: is your novel autobiographical? I always reply with an emphatic no, and it's certainly true that I have never had an affair, been a garden historian or a lawyer, or generally done any of the things my characters have done. They are works of fiction, coming from my imagination rather than real life.

For me it would be inhibiting to write fiction based on real life events. You'd always be worrying about what the real people thought about it, and constricted by what really happened. Real life is so random, it's rarely the stuff of good story telling. Just because something 'really happened' doesn't make it more interesting or valid on the page. If anything, the opposite seems to be the case.

But. But, but, but. It's disingenuous to claim that it's all made up. In truth I'm the central character, and every other character too. Sometimes I indulge in the aspects of my personality that I don't usually display, sometimes I try out aspects I don't think I have. One of my favourite characters is the horrible George in Adultery for Beginners - oh, how I loved being him, he has no redeeming features whatsoever. I use my experiences as background: I did garden history as part of my degree, cue Anna the garden historian; I spent time in Rome as a student, cue Natalie's escape destination.

I wouldn't want to write about my life because, for the most part, it's neither dramatic or particularly interesting. I had a happy childhood that I can hardly remember and my adult life has been fairly stress free. Joyce apparently described fiction as being autobiographical fantasy, which I like as a definition. Because, although I am making it all up when I write, it's also all about me, me, me.

Real Life, or Something Like It?

When I'm taking part in a workshop, a comment I dread hearing is: But it really happened. The trouble is that real life doesn't always make good fiction.

Real life goes on and on, whereas fiction is packaged into neat parcels: a novel or a short story.

Real life contains all the boring bits, the brushing of teeth, the walk to work, the ten minutes faffing around before making that call. Fiction cuts out all the boring bits (or should do!).

Real life takes time - a life time, literally. Fiction is the edited highlights compressed into a few minutes or hours of reading time.

Real life is full of coincidence, missed opportunities, inconsequential happenings. Fiction avoids coincidence, grabs every opportunity, and all happenings have consequences.

Real life may well see the good go unrewarded and the undeserving flourish. We may like to dream that Simon Cowell is unhappy deep deep down to balance his incredible success over the last decade, but to me he looks like a man who's pretty content with life. Happily, in fiction, the good can win and the baddies get their come-uppance.

Real life hampers the writer's choices as they worry about offending family and friends or getting it wrong. Fiction gives the writer free rein to do whatever they want or imagine.

Fiction gives the illusion of real life, but it is just an illusion. Writers make it up, and sometimes they make it feel more true than real life. Fiction isn't real life - it's better.