Monday Musings...

Do you remember the little paragraph in the front of the book stating that this is a work of fiction and all characters are totally made up and in no way, shape or form relate to anyone real? It's a pretty sweeping disclaimer to protect the author and the publisher from people, typically that know you but not always that think you're picking on them. It's an important paragraph to have on you, that way at those family thingys where people wear their quirks on their shirt sleeves, you can whip it out like a three hundred pound shield and read it to them. Trust me, I know I will have to at some point. 

     One year, I wore a t-shirt from Signals. It says, 'Careful, or you'll end up in my novel.' I think it's a fair warning. Because, let the truth be known, but I'm a writer and if I get mad at you, my revenge will be with words. Wahahaha!!!     

     Just be glad I'm not a singer/songwriter then you would find yourself in a song. How horrible would that be, to break up with someone and then a year down the line know that their number one hit song is about how much they hate you? I'm glad hero hottie gave up his band aspirations before we met. Whew. 

      But anyway, back on track. I wore this shirt to his side of the family and someone, they will remain unnamed in case they ever read this, read it and their face dropped, they grew pale, eyes wide with panic and they asked in a horrified voice, "Are you going to write me as the evil witch?"

     "No, of course not." I replied, that would make that little disclaimer at the front of my book a lie. A farce. A planted piece of evidence to protect my guilt. 

     Except, as a writer, we use things that happen to us as ideas, character flaws, plot grippers, tidbits to add depth to the story. We use everything. And even though I wouldn't write a character solely based on one person, they would be an imaginary character to begin with, and then I might take things from the people around me to round them out, I can't say that something that has happened to me isn't ever going to be a story. You may not recognize it by the time I mold it, squeeze it, and shape it to fit my story but writers write about what they know, but especially what they feel. 

       So I guess the moral of this tale is if you wouldn't want it in a song or in a book, then should you be doing it? And I suppose the other moral is don't make a writer mad, they just might slip you into their book and you might just end up locked in a tower or melting from a bucket of water. Wahahaha!!!

    (To clarify, I would never actually write anything revealing or mean about the people around me, I write fiction. It isn't my autobiography. :)