Sunday, June 10, 2012




Author Blog Challenge # 9

If your book is fiction, how could you change it to make it a nonfiction book? If your book is nonfiction, what could you do to turn it into a story? Hollywood has done it, so how could you do the same thing?


I'm not very happy with my response to today's challenge prompt. The waning of my creativity appears to be keeping pace with this phase of the moon. It would be so much easier to pull out a finished work or write to something I know, but that would defeat the challenge for me, so here goes nothing.

I have no idea how to turn a fiction story into non-fiction, for how does one take something created from the imagination and make it the truth but… if I wanted to bring a greater realism to fiction, I would rewrite it in first person narrative. Telling the story through the eyes of the writer, gives the an immediacy to their involvement in the story, as if they are speaking about a personal experience. To add greater authenticity I would include actual events, times and places and weave the characters into the facts.

I would find it easier to turn a book of non- fiction into fiction and I would begin the process using the facts of the story as a starting point, more or less as an outline, and then create a list of fictional characters to replace the real ones. I would change the settings, some or all place names, and any major or minor events that might identify individuals by linking them to events.   Unlike non-fiction, which may take many forms, a fiction story has a specific plot structure that carries the reader from first to last page and uses well thought out theme, symbolism, style and irony. I would also consider which point of view would work better for the story – probably third person narrative.

~ Merlene Fawdry

3 comments:

  1. When I read the parameters of this challenge all kinds of different thoughts ran through my mind, it seemed difficult. However I think you covered your dilema well.
    Thanks for the insight.
    Terry

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  2. Great answer to the post. I am finding a lot of us doing this challenge are fiction authors and struggling with this prompt!

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  3. I had to take a non-fiction story and create fiction. It was a lot easier than the other way around, especially if one involves dragons and such. Lol! WRITE ON!

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For some reason I'm yet to fathom I'm unable to reply to comments left by others so thank you for dropping by and taking the time to read and comment. Merlene