Can You Write Fiction?

     
     In the beginning, I was enthusiastically writing a nonfiction book. I had always enjoyed true stories and backgrounds of real people, not mysteries sagas or fictional characters. My nonfiction idea needed delicate attention, as it is a true story, but I did not feel comfortable hurrying the project for the sake of publishing a book.

     That is when writing fiction came into my head.  "I can write fiction. How difficult is that?"  I did not realize it then, but to my sorrow, I have answered that question many times since.  I chose fiction, and wrote "Clinging To Deceit," a novel about two families dealing with their children's arranged marriage and a dowry that causes pain and misery. Since I had never met anyone with that life story, I gathered my life experiences and mixed them in the book to help me construct the theme.  

      The story came alive as I typed and typed for months. I started remembering forgotten aspects of my youth such as my godparents failed dating arrangement between their son and I, family member deaths, sibling divorces, fights between brothers, domestic violence between my parents, deception, white lies, and cheating.  I had enough material to write fiction, even if those things were real to me.

     Fiction now was attainable, and a little easier to write.  Living out the experiences in the book became intense and it took ten long months to write, four weeks to edit, and will take three to four months to get published by AuthorHouse.com  The final product could have been available sooner had I not been distracted with facebook, myspace, linkedin, and a relocation.

    Challenge yourself to write fiction - even if it is not in your comfort zone. Use your writing abilities to include past experiences in your product, as I have done in "Clinging To Deceit."

     ElenaMartina 11.19.10