Guest Post: Shannon Wiersbitzky on Fiction as a Form of Truth

Follow @SWiersbitzky on TwitterBy Shannon Wiersbitzky
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

When I visit classrooms and talk about storytelling, I often discuss the “seeds” of stories. And how the best seeds come from real moments in our life; moments of great joy, or sadness, fear or confusion.

They’re the nuggets of truth that often inspire a story, or get woven into one, adding depth, color and perhaps most importantly, emotion.

The truth can be dangerous for fiction writers. Too much of it,...