Truth in Fiction?

In the July 5 issue of the New Yorker is a wonderful story by my friend, Sarah Shun-lien Bynum.

Sarah has been named one of the 20 best fiction writers under 40 by the New Yorker. It is a prediction, and mostly it turns out to be true. Getting named as such is a great help on that road. And she was already great!

But aside from a little name dropping (Hey! I know someone really cool and successful!) I am urging you to grab a copy of her story, "The Erlking," because of ME!!!!!

Hidden in her delightful story of maternal insecurity and the search for the right place for your child, is a fictional character named "Hilary" who holds forth on preschools. Sarah fact-checked it with me before submission. Was I OK with this characterization of "Hilary" who said something sort of like what I said to her?

I read it. I dimly remembered rattling on about something similar, with just as much forceful opinion and much less eloquence. Because the fictional Hilary is witty, snarky, hilarious, devastating and delightful. Oh, how I aspire to be that fictional Hilary.

I showed Jonathan, and said I wished I could be that way.

"You are," he said.

Aw, shucks.

I guess that is why I married him. He sees a little glitter and brilliance in ordinary me.

And to him it is not even fiction.

Direct Dial to the Goddess of Fiction

I am blessed to count among my friends some truly amazing people. Among them is the fabulous, wonderful, exquisite writer Sarah Shun Lien Bynum, National Book Award finalist and author of two hauntingly beautiful books.

As I woke up this morning I found myself still trying to figure out which voice I wanted to tell my novel in for NANOWRIMO. This is not just a masturbatory procrastination technique. I am really struggling.

Last year I tried telling every chapter in the voice of a particular character (you know the literary device, it is practially de rigueur for fiction now) , but I stumbled. I realized that really, my book was about the struggle between two of the characters. The story was what was going on in both of their heads, even if there are other characters who are essential the story. So this year, as I wade back in, reworking, fictionalizing, and adding plot to the mix, I found myself using the classic omniscient narrator. But going into night three I realized that wasn't working either. I could not get the voice, the perspective, the DEEP motivations of these two main characters into this mode. And yet, I did not want to be redundant, telling the same important incident twice from different perspectives in a Rashomon type account. Nor did I want to write in first person.

I talked to Jonathan, who listened carefully and said he would have to read it to comment. I am not ready for that.

So I headed to my computer and typed a "HELP ME" email to Sarah. Minutes later, she called from her little green Mini, on her long trek down to San Diego to teach at UCSD.

"Yes," she said.

I laid out my problem and she considered carefully. She knew the basics of my story from last year, and had followed my dilemmas and, remarkably, retained every detail. She asked me a few probing questions. Well, she said, omniscient narrator is usually for a grand cast of characters you can barely keep track of all laid out on a huge canvas (nope, not me). First person can work, do you want to do that? (no) I find limited third person can be even more revealing than first person, if you are trying to get to deep-seated emotional truths (interesting, and upon consideration, true!) And I wouldn't worry about repeating some sections with the point of view of different characters. That is fine (really?) And, from me, one more question. Should I add in the other characters and their perspectives. Oh no, said Sarah. Your lesson from last year was that two characters emerged as the main ones. Do not push it. Go with that.

And with that brilliant advice, dispensed from a speeding car racing through San Clemente, I am on my way, ready to go, and dive into DAY FOUR,

All you secret NANOWRIMO writers, where are you now? I would out you all, but I know you chose secret names and Everytown USA addresses for a reason.

I am at 5981.

Onward and upwards!