57 min listen
Episode 58: Sarah Saffian -- The Politics of Writing About Loved Ones
Episode 58: Sarah Saffian -- The Politics of Writing About Loved Ones
ratings:
Length:
55 minutes
Released:
Jul 21, 2014
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
A novelist has it easy—his characters, sprung from his imagination, don’t talk back when they’re not happy with the way they’re depicted on the page. But what if your character is your ex-husband, your twin brother, your mother? Are familial loyalty and literary integrity necessarily at odds? How can we most effectively navigate this touchy terrain, to maintain our real-life relationships without compromising the stories we need to tell? In this lecture/ discussion, we’ll grapple with such prickly issues as: the possibility of multiple “truths”; altering identifying characteristics; inviting loved ones into your writing process (or not); the pros and cons of allowing relatives to read your manuscript, and how much to revise per their comments, if at all; determining if what could hurt others truly advances the story. Whether you’re in the midst of a memoir project or are just contemplating one and scared off by this very conflict, let’s explore forms of expression that we can stand behind both as authors and as brothers/ daughters/friends.
Released:
Jul 21, 2014
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Dora Malech -- Talking It Out: Writing as Conversation: Although writing is a seemingly solitary and introspective act, this craft talk investigates the myriad ways in which the process of writing is, in fact, always a conversation. by The Writing University Podcast