Permission for Imagination:
Writing What You Haven’t Experienced
My new habit is to be reading about seven books at once. Many of these are read-alouds I have going on with my boyfriend and a few I read silently to myself. As I near the end of some of these books, I’m beginning to let myself fantasize about what book to add into my routine next. My to-read list is a very long one. One of the books I’ve been meaning to read for a long time is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. In the story, a student named Clay finds cassette tapes made by Hannah about why she decided to commit suicide.
I began to wonder if author Asher had personally dealt with any suicidal thoughts in his life. Through research, I found out that the inspiration came partially from a close relative who, luckily unsuccessfully, attempted to commit suicide. Still, a book about suicide, especially one that gives the perspective of somebody who committed it, could have gotten a significant amount of backlash. For Asher, this didn’t happen. Often, he receives messages of praise -even from people who had been considering suicide. The book became a #1 New York Times bestseller, but more importantly, it shed light on an important subject.
I decided to gain more views by posting the question to reddit.com, “Is it wrong to write about a traumatic experience you haven’t experienced?” I expected mixed results, but people seemed to be mostly in agreement. It seemed acceptable to write about traumatic experiences you haven’t experienced if you’ve done your research.
This gives me inspiration and confidence. Until recently, I’d been nervous to show the world one of my favorite short stories I’ve written titled Speechless**. There is always a nervousness that people won’t appreciate your work, if they even stumble upon it. In this case, it was more than that. The story involves rape and, not having been a victim of rape myself, I saw any perception people would have of it as a catch-22. If the characters seemed too believable, I worried my friends and family wouldn’t trust that the work is purely fiction.
“At dinner he kept complimenting me and joking about all the things he would do to me after he took me home to my empty house. I felt a little uncomfortable, but I thought he was cute so I just laughed it off. After dinner he walked me home. I remember thinking of it as chivalrous. He came into the house…then into my bedroom. We started making out. Then his hands started wandering and I thought it was a bit fast, but I didn’t say anything. He started taking off my clothes and I told him to stop,” Gwen’s chin started to quiver and she took a shaky breath before continuing.
Indeed, the first time my mother read the story, she was concerned that real life experiences might have occurred. My sister doesn’t read my fiction at all because she considers it too personal. I think she knows that, even if a plot is fake, emotions tend to be real, and she sees knowing her sister’s too well to be an invasion of privacy. On the other side, if the characters and situation came off unauthentic, it would be much worse. People wouldn’t enjoy the story, but, more importantly, if they’re a rape victim, they could be insulted by the inaccurate portrayal.
The take-away from the internet and my introspection is that, if you’re going to write about a subject you haven’t experienced, make sure to do your research. This won’t guarantee you don’t receive backlash, but it will inform your writing and improve it regardless. If it makes your writing more realistic, that’s a good thing! You can always reassure others that the work is fiction and it could lead to some interesting discussions. Isn’t the whole point of discussions, as well as reading, to learn about others and ourselves?
**For a preview of Speechless go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WRJN6TY
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