Re: To clarify :)

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: I agree with Gay as well. The sad truth is that the line's being blurred more and more everyday. What fascinates me is that the author behaves as if he's a victim somehow.I find that a bit infuriating. And it's disappointing to me (though not suprising)that Oprah decided to continue to back him. Book sales will undountedly be brisk. More and more, it seems, people are being rewarded for this sort of thing. It's a shame.


: For the record, I've been discussing this on another forum and a good many of the responses seem to think that there's little difference between a fiction author getting some factoid wrong (like putting a safety on a Glock, which doesn't have a safety in case you didn't know :) and a non-fiction writer who makes up stuff

: I have a feeling I'm starting to sound stuffy (oh no!) but I do think it's different if you're presenting yourself as a non-fiction writer.  With a memoir, while it's clearly better stylistically to sometimes merge several characters into one in order for clarity (for example), it does bother me a bit if someone exaggerates beyond a certain point (yes, clearly, a line we draw in the sand and for each of us, it's in a different place).  

: If you were at a party where someone was relating a true story, and at some point the inconsistencies got too horrendous and you realized you were listening to a blowhard, wouldn't you treat everything else coming out of their mouths a bit differently, knowing it's a creative product rather than literal fact?  I'm not saying I'd like it better or less, but I'd evaluate it differently.  If a fiction writer has a character falling off a six story building and surviving, that's literary license.  If a real person claims to have survived a six story fall, that's headline news!

: So, where do you draw the line?  How much creative license turns non-fiction into fiction...and do we care?

: Maggie
: webmaven@gregrucka.com









: 
: : For the record, I've been discussing this on another forum and a good many of the responses seem to think that there's little difference between a fiction author getting some factoid wrong (like putting a safety on a Glock, which doesn't have a safety in case you didn't know :) and a non-fiction writer who makes up stuff

: : I have a feeling I'm starting to sound stuffy (oh no!) but I do think it's different if you're presenting yourself as a non-fiction writer.  With a memoir, while it's clearly better stylistically to sometimes merge several characters into one in order for clarity (for example), it does bother me a bit if someone exaggerates beyond a certain point (yes, clearly, a line we draw in the sand and for each of us, it's in a different place).  

: : If you were at a party where someone was relating a true story, and at some point the inconsistencies got too horrendous and you realized you were listening to a blowhard, wouldn't you treat everything else coming out of their mouths a bit differently, knowing it's a creative product rather than literal fact?  I'm not saying I'd like it better or less, but I'd evaluate it differently.  If a fiction writer has a character falling off a six story building and surviving, that's literary license.  If a real person claims to have survived a six story fall, that's headline news!

: : So, where do you draw the line?  How much creative license turns non-fiction into fiction...and do we care?

: : Maggie
: : webmaven@leechild.com


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