The truth in fiction, fact in fiction, historical novels and fictional histories: the line is very blurred. One of my latest short stories has a dog as the protagonist who writes about the boy he adopted.
It’s a story based on a short article I read in a community newspaper the other side of the nation over twenty years ago. Both the poignancy and the authoritarian wrong-headedness that was involved in the original article percolated until it emerged as the short story “Consequences”.
At its heart, Consequences is a true story. It’s also a sad story. But it’s fiction. It’s often impossible to separate one type or genre of writing from another.
Happy reading and writing meanwhile.
Pic: Viv and Gamba courtesy Clare Tansley
