Truth in Fiction
I was in a discussion online the other day where an idea was being bandied about that is something I heard when I first started pursuing publication: that all new authors should write romance because romance is “easy” and getting published in romance is “easier” than in any other genre.
As a confirmed romance writer, this statement always ticked me off, because though I enjoy writing romance, it has never been “easy,” especially once I started studying the craft of not just writing in general, but of writing the specific genre of romance. So I quoted this passage from Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water:
- The artist, like the child, is a good believer. The depth and strength of the belief is reflected in the work; if the artist does not believe, then no one else will; no amount of technique will make the responder see truth in something the artist knows to be phony. (pp 148–149)
And then also:
- Whether a story is to be marketed for grownups or for children, the writer writes for himself, out of his own need, otherwise the story will lack reality . . . if it is totally honest and unselfpitying, then it will have the valid ring of truth. If it is written because it is what is at the moment fashionable, and not out of the writer’s need, then it is apt to be unbelievable. . . . (pg. 109)
We’re taught all of our lives that the words truth and fiction are opposite in meaning, and thus the phrase truthful fiction is an oxymoron. But anyone wanting to be a published writer must understand that it is not an oxymoron—it’s the mandate put upon us as crafters of story.
When we sit down to write, we’re making something up; we’re coming up with fiction, with something that hasn’t really happened. But when we do so, we’re actually calling upon things that are real and true: feelings, emotions, experiences, thoughts, deeply held beliefs. If we ignore those things to dash off a particular kind of story not because it’s the story of the heart but because it has a better chance of selling, we’re lying to our readers and betraying ourselves as artists (as Madeleine L’Engle calls us).
Writing shouldn’t be “easy.” At least not in the way this term is used in the argument for all new authors writing romance because they say it’s the easiest genre to write (all you have to do is plug characters into a formula, right?) and the easiest to get published in (more than 50% of all fiction sold is romance/women’s fiction). All writing should be hard work, because all writing should come from deep within, no matter if it’s a category romance or a literary saga.
L’Engle also wrote:
- No matter how true I believe what I am writing to be, if the reader cannot also participate in that truth, then I have failed. (pg. 147)
I write romance because, for me, the desire to fall in love and get married is one of the truest things in my life. I also write characters who are still single in their mid- to late-thirties and early forties because, again, that is something that is true for me. Maybe there are some folks out there who approach my stories with speculation, unable to believe that there are still men and women in this country who are not only still not married by this age, but who are still pure (heaven forbid!) and dedicated to waiting until marriage. But because I am writing from a place of truth, of honesty, it is my hope that even those who begin reading with speculation will be able to participate in the truthful fiction that I’ve crafted.
Not very often, but a few times, I have read a novel and could not get into it, even though it was well crafted and the technical aspects of it were perfect. Upon further reflection, I couldn’t identify with the story—it didn’t ring true to me—and I came to discover it was written by someone who was either following a trend in writing (such as everyone who jumped on the chick-lit bandwagon a few years ago, even though it wasn’t the genre they really felt called to write) or someone who got pigeon-holed into a particular genre and just churns out book after book with the same basic storyline and characters. These are throw-away books, stories that no one will remember a week after reading them.
I want to write fiction that sticks with people, that makes them think, that makes them want to keep the book on their shelves for years and re-read it occasionally just to remember the truths that the characters and story convey: forgiveness, honesty, trust, and the power of love to conquer even the greatest fear.
How do you convey truth in your fiction? What are the truths that you want people to walk away from your stories with?
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KayeDacus.com 
I’ve held a variety of jobs in my life, and writing is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done. This post is EXCELLENT.
Your comment about why you write romance, and the truth in your life – well, it makes me comment on something I noticed about my own writing.
Before I married my hubby a few years ago, I read and wrote romance. But since we fell in love and got married, that “need” has been met, and I don’t find myself writing or reading strictly romance anymore. I love stories that have romance IN them, but can’t write a story that is strictly romance.
One of my books received a few comments from editors and crit partners – one felt that the “romance” throughout the book was rather “flat” because we all knew they would end up together; then others said the wedding at the end was one of the most beautiful and vivid scenes they’d ever read. The “flatness” of the romance was to me a truth – the couple knew they would spend the rest of their lives together, they just had to figure out WHEN to marry. But in a book that’s not enough tension, so now I have to go back and rewrite it to add more sparkle and tension throughout.
Does that make sense?
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I read a quote once that said, “Fiction is the lie that tells the truth.”
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Writing is so far from “easy.” I don’t care what genre a person could be talking about. If there’s no passion there, the resulting book is going to be instantly forgettable.
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Kaye, what an excellent post. Yes to every word. I have to write not only what I know but who I am to my pinkie fingernail, and it’s a romantic. How, for pity’s sake, do you begin to write ROMANCE if your heart’s not on the page? If any genre requires heart, that’s it.
You aptly said writing is hard work and yes, that’s my experience too. However, if you’re writing who you are, it’s joyful hard work. If you’re not…well, then it’s just arduous and difficult, I would imagine…dont’ know because I don’t do it.
One last thing: formula. Aren’t most “commercial” novels similarly plotted? Plot has a predictable structure. Our brains like that. As a musician I know that 99% of songs on the radio have a similar formula: verse, refrain, verse, refrain, break, key change, refrain, coda. We love songs AND we love the mix of predictability and novelty. Same “structure”, but different chords, different hooks and riffs, different lyrics.
Great post, great thoughts, well put. Thanks for telling the truth about love stories! 😉
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I think that sometimes when people say “easy” what they really mean is that they perceive a greater probability of success, i.e. getting published, within the romance genre by virtue of the number of romance titles–or titles with strong romantic elements–published each year compared to other genres.
Except that’s a fallacy because it doesn’t take into account the number of romance writers seeking publication, which may or may not be higher than in other genres but certainly affects the overall probability of publication, as does the number of available slots of publication across all publishers.
Can you tell I’m a techie?
Then again, some folks are just silly and not worth quite that much thought.
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I was thinking the exact same thing when I read that, Patricia.
I think the truth of “who I am” or “what I want” is much more difficult to pin down at my age. I’m only 21. I have an idea of what I think I want, but I hate to tie myself down or limit my options, so I more or less just keep an open mind.
Because of this, whatever I write about tends to be more about whatever stories I personally find amusing. Some of my personal ideals and feelings are interwoven by default, but I can’t simplify my desires to one thing like “get married” or “fall in love” so much as broader desires like “live, love, and laugh.” Yes, “love” is in there, but that’s not talking about romantic love at all. I’ve yet to meet a single girl I’d choose over my family or my friends in the long run. Maybe for a night here and there, but if it came down to it, they’ve all run a pretty distant second. The love between friends and family is something I have a much stronger faith in.
So, that said, I find it difficult to write about romance. I only know the ideal version that’s in my head and the forgettable version that’s just for a spot of fun.
I can try writing romance, and have on occasion when I thought I finally had a shortly lived hint of what I was talking about, but I don’t see the point in expecting other people to get into my writing when I can’t get into it myself. Choosing a genre based on the simplest formula is silly.
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The general public is under the misconception that anyone that doesn’t have a “real” job (e.g. artist, authors, mothers), doesn’t do “real” work. Ergo making art, writing novels, raising children must be easy. If these things were easy, everyone would do them. Most people don’t want to put in the time and energy necessary practicing their art/writing and honing their skills.
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I whole-heartedly agree with Kaye and the other respondents–learning to write well is definitely the hardest thing I have ever done! I always learned quickly in school and “book learning” but I often feel like a slow-learner when it comes to learning to write well. And I think that last word is the crux of the matter. Writing is something a first-grader can do if all it concerns is putting words on paper, but to do it well takes years of dedication to craft and hours and hours of study and reading and writing! Thanks to your insightful and encouraging blog to spur us on!
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I write romance because it makes me happy. It is the way my heart wants every story to end. I read lots of genres, but I love romance the best, and even in other genres I want there to be some happily-ever-after romance to be one of the storylines. I’ve tried plotting other types of fiction, and the ones I’ve actually finished writing are romances. The two I haven’t finished weren’t and I grew bored with them and set them aside.
Anyone who says writing a novel of any kind, be it a YA, category romance, stand alone romance, or whatever, is easy, probably hasn’t done much of it. Or doesn’t do it very well. JMNSHO. 🙂
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As an author of children’s books, I’m constantly faced with people thinking my genre is “easy” as well. Fewer words equals less thought, right? Oh, sooooooooo wrong.
I write for kids, though, because childhood is full of lessons learned without the disasterous consequences a lot of adults have when they “learn lessons.” Exploring the world, learning to love another person, learning to think beyond yourself, discovering your secret talent or how to cope with new challenges–that’s where my heart is, and that’s where my pen finds its true home too:)
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I think anyone who thinks writing fiction is easy doesn’t do it. Kaye, this is a great post!I think fiction at its best allows the absorption of great ideas because there is an emotional component intertwined. It’s a great responsibility to make sure the idea/theme we release is edifying for the reader.
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One truth I’m trying to convey is from a quote from Les Miserables–the novel: “He undoubtedly thought that this man…had his misery all too constantly on his mind, and that it was better to make him think of other things, and have him believe, if only for a moment, that he was a person like anyone else, by treating him in this normal way. Isn’t this a true understanding of charity? Isn’t there, dear lady, something truly evangelical in this tact, which refrains from sermonizing, moralizing, and making allusions? Isn’t it most sympathetic, when a man has a bruise, not to touch it at all?”
It is so hard not to give up and have people say things like that, instead of living them. I have written two other novels, neither of which were romances, and none were as hard as this one.
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Ditto:-)
I think writing romance is easiER for me than writing other genre’s, but that is because who I am at the core is a romance writer. I write romantic comedy. I am not a suspense or Sci Fi or thriller writer. I don’t write mysteries (although it is fun to put a bit of mystery in every book) and I personally don’t write historicals (although I do love to read them from time to time).
I agree, I think you can tell when a person is writing outside their genre.
In the end, it is all a personal choice. We choose for ourselves what we will write, what stories we will allow to escape our imaginations and leap onto paper.
I personally am choosing to let my funny bone leap out at the moment. I have a crazy silly wacky life with three little girls that make me laugh everyday. I grew up with a HIGHLY sarcastic family. Someday, there will be an intense dramatic fiction spew out of me. It is in there, but I’m just not ready to breed it yet.
Oh, and my other irritation that I am STILL getting over is when people note to me how much better NON-fiction sells and why don’t I write that? Uh, because I’m a NOVELIST?? Do I want to sell my books? Yes! Would I love to make a living at it someday? Absolutely. Will I ever write a non-fiction book? Probably someday. But my product will be stories. I am a novelist, a storyteller, at heart. I won’t forsake my first writing love for the lure of extra $$. Not yet anyway:-)
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Oh my GOSH! I just saw your cover and it looks SO FRIGGIN AWESOME! And so Southern! Are you going to post about seeing it for the first time, etc.?
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Hey, meant to ask you – has Barbour told you whether or not this is the “final” cover? The pic you have up looks like what they put in their January-April catalog. Just wondering!
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Yes, as far as I know, this is the final cover. Hopefully, it’ll be up on Amazon soon!
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Very cool. I am looking forward to seeing what Barbour comes up with for books 2 & 3!
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I was taught at age 15 that “every story is true, it’s just that not all of them happened.”
This came from the same teacher who taught me “Real toads in imaginary gardens.”
You can tell they’re still with me, and that’s how I look at this question of “truth” in fiction.
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Kaye, I hope you don’t mind, but I referred to this post on my blog today (http://www.queenofperseverance.blogspot.com) because it’s so relevant to my own situation right now. Great post!
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