Separating the Writer from the Story

There is a mistake most beginning writers make. They think, or have been told, they have an anecdote or situation from their life that would "make a good book." Chances are, it doesn't. Not that it isn't an interesting story, perhaps an important story of survival or overcoming a trauma, but that doesn't build a plot. 

Many writers start off this way. I certainly did. I thought well, this was a unique situation. It was. But it wasn't a good fictional situation. Plot is not situation. Plot is when an inciting incident happens forcing a protagonist to face obstacles to a achieve a goal that has stakes. 

The problem is that most beginners attempt to shoehorn a real life situation into a fictional framework. But fiction doesn't work that way. You can't write the first half as autobiography then twist the story into a genre plot. The frame is poor and the glue won't hold.

I am not saying that a writer can't be inspired from things in real life. I am saying there are requirements of a good story and genre expectations.  Readers have expectations. They want to know what kind of story they are buying. They want it to meet certain minimum requirements. They really hate bait and switch: when it appears to be one kind of story but turns into another story form they don't like. The biggest problem with this approach is that many readers will walk away unsatisfied. Worse, they will voice their displeasure in a review. They may never give your writing another chance.

So what is the solution? There are multiple options. 

1. You can write an autobiography.

Autobiography is a chronological narration of your life. You takes notes about the important bits and cut the boring bits. Think of it as a highlight reel. Hopefully the content is interesting enough that other people want to read about you. It helps if you are famous or have some illustrious career or fascinating hobbies.

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-an-autobiography

2. You can write a memoir.

A memoir is a group of anecdotes related by a theme: love, loss, relationships growing and dying, life beginning and ending. It can feature a series of successes or failures. It can be a tale of overcoming a disease, an addiction, a trauma. Finding your audience depends on the theme.

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-start-writing-a-memoir

3. You can take elements from your personal narrative and turn it in to a literary drama.

You have to let go of the idea that it is your personal story and make all elements serve the plot. 

But it is true! But that's what really happened! It isn't that simple (insert complex explanation). 

That has to go. Do you want to write a memoir or a sound fiction story? There's no point twisting yourself into a pretzel to try to make a biographical anecdote fictional. It's just not worth the effort. The story will be weak.

Subgenres include: 

● Activist/Cause Literary examines the ramification of a social topic, politics, religion, man's inhumanity to man.

● Coming of Age Literary examines an adolescent facing adulthood.

● Crime Literary examines the impact and fallout from a crime for the victim, victim's family, the perpetrator, or his family.

● Disease/Death Literary examines the effects of a serious illness or the impact of a death.

● Friendship examines the building, maintenance, or unraveling of a friendship.

● Historical Literary examines the impact of a pivotal point in history on a person and/or their close personal friends and family.

● Legal Literary examines how upholding or contesting the law impacts a person or group of people.

● Malfeasance Literary examines how a corporation or group has damaged people and how their crimes are exposed.

● Multi-Generation Family Saga examines the lives of two or more generations in a family.

● Relationship Literary examines the building, maintenance, or unraveling of any relationship.

● Romantic Literary examines the building, maintenance, or unraveling of a romantic relationship as opposed to the happy-ever-after expectation of the Romance genre.

● Revelation Literary examines the impact of the revelation of a secret or a universal truth.

● Situational Literary peels back the layers of a problem to reveal the cause.

● War Literary explores the cost of war.

4. You can write a story from any other genre. 

There may be elements that inspire your fiction, but don't let your life story hinder the mechanics of a fictional one.

For more on literary drama and other genres you can put your idea through the story sorter here:

http://dianahurwitz.com/theory.html

If you want to learn more, you can check out Story Building Blocks at www.dianahurwitz.com for free information and forms. 

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You can check out the Master List of blog posts at  http://dianahurwitz.blogspot.com/2021/10/master-list-of-mini-courses.html

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