When you write, you write what you know. Sure, if you’re crafting a work of fiction you’re going to weave your way through words and worlds that don’t exist, but real life has a way of sneaking in there. Writers might put people on planets in some faraway place or make up names to attach to people not yet born (remember, prior to Peter Pan, Wendy wasn’t a thing). But, more often than not, writers write what they know. They’ll attach characteristics to their characters, based on people they know or have met. Many times, writers color scenes with sensations they’ve experienced and emotions they’ve had, witnessed or at least heard about. Even when a writer goes down the rabbit hole of research to expand their existing knowledge base — maybe writing about a geographic area or career field they know nothing about — they still put bits of who they are and know into a story. It’s only natural.
But, heaven help you when write the truth. I don’t mean tabloid stories or exposés that have a gross, slick sheen to them. That’s cheap, low hanging fruit that serves no purpose, as far as I’m concerned and shame on the people that peddle that crud for monetary gain or perverse power. There’s an inherent nastiness to those kinds of stories that is poisonous. Nope. That is not the truth I’m interested in.
There’s another version of ‘truth’ that presents a bit of icky storytelling, with people who go around insisting that the hot air they’re blowing must be acknowledged because it’s their ‘truth.’ Psssssh. Along with that, they bat about word ‘authentic’ and it saddens me to think that both of those words will become overused, underappreciated and lose their value. I don’t want them to be used by people who just want permission to behave badly or excuse unsavory things about them. “Hey! This is my TRUTH! I’m just being authentic, bro! Leave me alone.” *Sigh* What a waste of those words (I feel the same about the word ‘awesome’ – the world has taken all of the awe out it).
The truth is a sticky wicket when you write about it. Recently, I had someone pass judgement on my writing that they hadn’t actually read. They’d only heard about it from someone else. Ooooh. THAT is a dangerous and rather foolish game. Children had a gentler version of that game, one they used to call “Telephone” – you know, where one kid would be told something, then they’d whisper into the ear of the next child and around the circle it would go, until the last person would utter what they’d been told (or thought they’d heard). What typically happens is the information gets completely distorted as it’s passed along. The original message wasn’t properly relayed, because the messenger was removed. While silly, harmless fun on the playground – it’s not very nice when grownups play the same game with toxic results. To quote Edgar Allan Poe, “Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.”
One of my favorite Instagram posts (thank you @thewriterink) says, “Don’t f— with writers. We’ll describe you.” which is a sassy way of simply stating a similar sentiment of author Anne Lamott’s: “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” That quote has stayed with me, but not because of the permission it seems to grant writers to tell the truth (or their version of the truth) — but because to me… it served as mantra on how to behave. Sort of a twist on “Treat others how you want to be treated.”
It is a chance you take when telling stories and writing tales that have gathered in your heart and mind over time. There will always be those who read what you wrote and take issue with either the subtext of what they THINK you meant, or when they believe they recognize an unflattering version of themselves. I’ve had complete strangers write to me as if we were in mid-conversation together, with them snarking to me about something I’d written that had nothing to do with them (Never met them! Don’t know them!) and it is SCARY. On the other hand, I’ve had friends and relatives say to me, “Oh, I love when you tell stories… about someone else. Just not me.”
I have to tell you, I know exactly why they say that.
To tell you the truth.
“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” – Charles Spurgeon
“Three things cannot be long hidden: The sun, the moon and the truth.” – Buddha
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” – Oscar Wilde