Why does a writer not write about writing...much?

You might by now be wondering why I keep posting blogs in this writer's/author’s website that have nothing to do with any of my writing. Only a couple of them are about the “Gringa apestosa” memoir I wrote and none of them (so far) are about any current writing I am doing. Most of them are about my (translation and editing) work and my most recent blog post was about Words with Friends.

It’s really quite simple: Anything and everything I experience, and anyone I meet, are fodder for my writing. That’s true of any writer. I think there is a saying, something like, “Be careful what you say around a writer. You might find yourself or what happened to you in a story or book by that writer someday.” Well, it’s true. Everything I experience and everyone I know could end up in a story or book I write. Possibly changed to the point where the person or event is not really recognizable in comparison with reality, but many people I know and things that have happened to me and to them end up in my stories or books, not just in memoirs, but in the fiction I write also.

So the stuff I write about in these blog posts might eventually end up in a story. Like the creep from WwF or the outrage I feel that people cheat when playing the game. Probably in a disguised, unrecognizable form – fiction – but there nonetheless.

Truth can be stranger than fiction and simply too unbelievable for readers, which is why writers almost never tell the unadorned truth. They turn the truth and the people they know into disguised, unrecognizable fiction that is intriguing to read – not unbelievable to the point that you no longer want to finish the story or book. Truth can be too outrageous. Readers would not believe it and would stop reading your story or book.

But there is (usually) at least a kernel of truth in every story and every character, whether in fiction or in any other genre of writing. How else could a writer write if he/she didn't experience things and know people, listen to their situations, and then fictionalize them in his/her writing, to a greater or lesser extent? Yes, writers sometimes create completely fictionalized stories and characters that they say have absolutely nothing to do with their reality. But even the stories and characters I have created that I say are complete fiction have something in them that is based on something in my reality, my history, my life...or your life if I know you. Even if it's nothing more than the way a character I write about smiles. I have seen that smile on a person in my life and I used it on one of my characters.

So, smile away, talk until you have nothing more to say. Tell me about your life and the people in it. I promise to listen - I am a very good listener. I am a writer. Don't forget that. I am a writer and I will use you and/or your situations in my writing. Fictionalized to a greater or lesser extent, but there. I am not doing it to be mean or to "expose" you or your "secrets." I am not evil. I am simply a writer who is fascinated by the people in my life and the things that happen to me and them and that I or they do. If you make it into my writing, take it as a compliment. I like you and/or your situation(s) enough to be fascinated and think about you/your situation(s) and then use them in my writing. Feel flattered!