Honesty in Fiction

I  follow the blog of literary agent Rachelle Gardner and she posts some real gems. A recent article touched on one of the most understated fears of all writers; I can’t imagine that any writer has ever avoided this particular demon

It’s the fear of tackling the craft of writing with honesty.  Yes, she’s also ttalking honesty in works of fiction. Here’s an excerpt from her post. Read on, and discover that she’s talking about truthful writing at the deepest and most powerful levels of all storytelling

I just finished reading an unusual memoir  Walden on Wheels by Ken Llgunas, which is already one of my favorites for many reasons, the primary one being the author’s honesty. In the book, he takes the reader along as he ventures outside his comfort zone, violates societal norms, faces his own limits, stares down his demons and accomplishes some major personal victories. He shares his thinking all along the way, oftentimes a bit immature or selfish or unenlightened, and brings us with him as his perspectives mature and blossom. He lets us in, even as he knows he might be saying things that alienate us. He tells the truth, awkward and unpleasant as it sometimes is, and I came to admire his story for what it was: a journey. He didn’t have to be perfect all along the way; the point was that he learned and he grew and in essence, he came of age right there in front of our eyes.

We would not have the privilege of reading such powerful works without authors who are unafraid of telling the truth.

In your blogging, in your Twittering and Facebooking, in your novel-writing and your memoir-writing and your non-fiction writing… what if you were able to let go of your need to show the world only your best side? Your shiny, polished and edited side? What if you were to tell the truth about your humanness — those moments of selfishness and greed, those flashes of insecurity, the envy that overtakes you at odd moments? What if you were able to portray the world as it really is?