Blogger KRISTI HOLL is the author of 35 books, including WRITER'S FIRST AID.

Pages

Blogroll

Archives

Categories

RSS Writers First Aid

Truth vs. Facts

July 15, 2009

truthAbout ten years ago, someone said to me, “You write fiction because you can’t handle the real world.”

I was stunned by the accusation. For one thing, my fictional characters were very real to me! And I tackled real situations in my books–often based on actual events. From my childhood on, I’d learned a lot of truth about the human condition from reading fiction. In many cases, I learned more from fiction than from observing my real world.

Do Facts Equal Truth?

In Madeleine L’Engle {Herself}: Reflections on a Writing Life, the Newbery-award winner wrote about “the truth of art”: “Once when I suggested to a student that he go to the encyclopedia when he wanted to look up a fact, he asked me, ‘But can’t I find truth in stories too?’ My reply: ‘Who said anything about truth? I told you to look up facts in the encyclopedia. When you’re looking for lengletruth, then look in art, in poetry, in story, in painting and music.’ Now this student was doing no more than making the mistake of many of his elders, confusing provable fact with truth, and then fearing truth enough to try to discount it. If I want to search for the truth of the human heart, I’m more apt to go to Dostoyevsky’s Brothers Karamazov than a book on anatomy.”

I think that people who discount fiction don’t really understand it–or haven’t read much of it. They don’t grasp the power of story to carry truth. They have a bit of a superior attitude, as if reading a biography or a book on unclogging your sink has more merit than a novel.

Truth Learned in Fiction

I still have most of my favorite childhood books, and I still re-read some of them. I loved sharing them with my daughters, and I now love sharing them with my grandchildren. Some truths are universal and timeless (like the lessons on friendship learned from Charlotte’s Web.)

My all-time favorite children’s book was Little Women. I learned a lot of important truths from the March family: how to love deeply, how to grieve a loss and go on, and how to feed the imagination. (I expect the writing “bug” bit me then, as I watched Jo March toiling away in the attic over her stories.) I learned that writers wrote about what they knew.

Life Lessons

If you have a minute, leave a comment and share a book or two from your own childhood that impacted you–and tell why. What truths do you remembering learning in fiction?

Post tags: ,

16 Comments »

  1. This question gave me some wonderful moments spent remembering those childhood favorites. Two of mine were also Alcott books but not Little Women. I loved Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom. I was fascinated by the idea that Rose could become healthy and happy by living much the way I did in my childhood days. Rose in Bloom was the first romance I ever read. I thrilled at the love and cried at Charlie’s death. I was also terribly pleased when Rose finally saw Mac’s worth. When I look at those books now, they are heavy-handed indeed, but I didn’t know or more likely didn’t care when I was 9 or 10.

    Comment by Bonnie Hinman — July 15, 2009 @ 9:03 am

  2. Bonnie, isn’t it a shame that books with such strong lessons for life and good morals that changed our lives are now too heavy-handed to sell? What great books many of today’s kids are missing. I’ll have to go back and read ROSE IN BLOOM and EIGHT COUSINS again. They’re on my shelves too. 8-)

    Comment by Kristi Holl — July 15, 2009 @ 11:38 am

  3. I’m sure my choices will show my age. In elementary school, I loved Anne of Green Gables and the Happy Hollister Mystery series. As a teen, I first read my all-time favorite–To Kill a Mockingbird. My 14-year-olds favorite is Jack Prelutsky’s The Dragons Are Singing Tonight.

    Just want to mention how much your pictures and graphics add atmosphere to your blog. Wish I had enough techno-saavy to figure out how to do that.

    Comment by Bonita Pate Davis — July 15, 2009 @ 8:13 pm

  4. Bonita, I LOVED Anne of Green Gables and later, To Kill a Mockingbird too! Both outstanding and inspirational–with characters so real you expect to find them around the next corner. (Thanks for the comment about the graphics. It doesn’t take much savvy at all though–they’re from http://www.clipart.com. You just save the image and insert it.) 8-)

    Comment by Kristi Holl — July 15, 2009 @ 8:30 pm

  5. A funny story comes to my mind. My friend was after her daughter to read more non-fiction so she’d LEARN SOMETHING. But daughter was hooked on Nancy Drew. In school, she was in some kind of Quiz Bowl and ended up winning for her team because she knew an obscure answer. My friend asked how in the world she knew that. “I read it in a Nancy Drew book.” :)

    Comment by Jane Heitman Healy — July 15, 2009 @ 8:43 pm

  6. Jane, what a great story! 8-) I’m a die-hard old Nancy Drew fan myself. I realize they aren’t considered “great literature,” but I sure loved the adventure and figuring out the puzzles and clues!

    Comment by Kristi Holl — July 15, 2009 @ 8:46 pm

  7. I too love Little Women and Charlotte’s Web.

    Patti Gauch said there is no fiction without facts (also at Chautauqua :) and I agree. There is so much truth in fiction. My childhood favorites: Enid Blyton’s Brer Rabbit stories. Rabbit is small but always outwits the Bear and Wolf … sometimes he gets his just desserts for playing pranks. To this day, I love animal stories. Rats of NIMH is another favorite. Oliver Twist … how I cried and laughed.

    I must confess that even as a kid I was drawn to memoir and biography. Three that left their mark on me were: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (age 10); Albert Schweitzer by an author whose name I no longer remember (age 8 or 9) and Adventures in Two Worlds by A. J. Cronin (age 12). The last is probably what put the seed in me to write.

    Great post.

    Comment by Vijaya — July 15, 2009 @ 9:00 pm

  8. Vijaya, I had forgotten my favorite biographies until you mentioned them. Yes, Diary of a Young Girl was so very gripping and poignant. I remember one about Madame Curie, too, that I read over and over and over. Her dedication and perseverance under terrible hardship inspired me. Thanks for sharing your titles! 8-)

    Comment by Kristi Holl — July 16, 2009 @ 3:48 pm

  9. Kristi - the first books I remember absolutely enthralling me were the Narnia books. I used to feel so disappointed that there was nothing in the back of my wardrobe except dust and old clothes!
    I think what I learned from those books was all about imagination and other worlds, and that anything can be possible, in stories or in life - if you want it to be.

    Comment by Sherryl — July 16, 2009 @ 4:19 pm

  10. Oh, Sherryl, the Narnia books ARE enthralling. When I was on the C.S. Lewis tour and got to see THE wardrobe in his house, I could hardly stand not to dig in the back of those fur coats. 8-)

    Comment by Kristi Holl — July 16, 2009 @ 5:21 pm

  11. I love it when I find the time to go back and re-read an old childhood favorite. I liked reading books with strong female characters, like Anne of Green Gables, Bridge to Terabithia, and Dicey’s Song. But I also really enjoyed “boy books” like Where the Red Fern Grows and My Side of the Mountain. Each of these stories taught me life lessons that I will never forget, even if some of the details of the plot become fuzzy. Even though there are lots of great new books published today, I find that I love to share my lifetime favorites with the students I teach. So I encourage them to read some old books I remember from my childhood, and they keep me up-to-date on the newest titles that I just can’t miss!

    Comment by Amy Green — July 16, 2009 @ 10:06 pm

  12. Amy, I feel the same way about my old books. I remember the themes and life lessons much better than the actual plots. I guess that’s why I love character-driven stories. I’m glad you encourage your students to try some of the older favorites!

    Comment by Kristi Holl — July 17, 2009 @ 1:23 pm

  13. Wow. This post reminds me of Joseph Campbell and what he says about myth and ritual. (As if the man isn’t quoted enough!) He says that myth (fiction) doesn’t necessarily give us information, but rather a new framework for interpreting the things that happen in our lives. This leads to a richer and more adaptive experience, overall. And I think that he’s right. Have you ever known a child or an adult who did not have a solid base of fairy tales, fables and nursery rhymes?

    Comment by Jenn — July 17, 2009 @ 9:39 pm

  14. Jenn, that is a great quote! 8-) I definitely agree that great fiction gives us a new framework for interpreting the things that happen in our lives. It helps us make sense of life. Thanks!

    Comment by Kristi Holl — July 17, 2009 @ 10:04 pm

  15. My two favorite books that come to mind were Where the Red Fern grows, and The Secret Garden. Where the Red Fern Grows taught me as a very young reader that working hard would get me what I wanted in life. My teacher read it to the class when I was in fifth grade. I have sence read it over and over. The Secret Garden taught me that I can make “me” into what ever I want “me” to be. (age 10) These two books definitely shaped who I am today at 54.

    Comment by Lynda Kelly — July 18, 2009 @ 6:52 am

  16. Lynda, thanks for mentioning another couple of terrific books–and the reasons why you loved them and learned from them. I love the most recent remake of the movie of “The Secret Garden.” And it’s neat being able to pass this along to our kids/grandkids!

    Comment by Kristi Holl — July 18, 2009 @ 2:07 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment