Trouble Making the Leap to Fiction?

If the leap from writing nonfiction to writing fiction seems wide and daunting, try this exercise, excerpted from Christopher Castellani’s “Nothing but the Truth,” published in Naming the World (edited by Brett Anthony Johnston).

Make a list of five to ten significant “firsts” and “lasts” in your life.  Do the same if you are writing about someone else or something else (a city or neighborhood).  The significance can be subtle or dramatic.  For example:

1. The first time I shoplifted.
2. The first time I saw the Grateful Dead in concert
3. The first immigrant family who moved into Anonymous, USA
4. The first boy who broke my heart

1. The last time I saw my father
2. The last cigarette I smoked
3. The last major sports team victory in Bigcity, USA
4. The last day of college

Pick the entry above that feels most compelling to you.  Take, for example, “the first time I shoplifted.”  Jot down all the things you remember about the experience, focusing on the sensory:  sights, sounds, smells.  Now write the scene but change something fundamental about the experience.  For example:

• The gender of the main character
• The time period in which the experience occurred, for example, make it happen in the 1920’s or the 2020’s.
• The outcome of the experience.  If, in reality, you got away with it, show what happens if the main character gets caught.
• The basic situation.  Instead of stealing a Milky Way from CVS, maybe you stole a condom.  Or maybe a tie from Saks.
• Combine one of your firsts with one of your lasts:  Maybe the last time the main character saw her father was at a Grateful Dead concert.  Or the first boy who broke your heart did so the night the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series.  To me, this option has the most exciting possibilities.

This exercise works because the author is confidently grounded by the actual experience but still forced to stretch his or her imagination.  The more drafts you write, the further from “real life” you will get, and yet the entire piece will likely still retain a sense of authenticity.

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