The Write Advice 173: NADIA WHEATLEY

 

It is not completely surprising for writers to seem to predict events in their own lives.  If literary characters are 'real,' in the sense of fully realised, then there is a limited number of ways for them to behave.  And if these characters are derived from aspects of the writer, then it is possible for the writer to mimic the character, for in real life as in fiction it is hard to act 'out of character.'  An element of self-fulfilling prophecy can also operate, or fiction may be a means of developing the writer's attitude to life.

 

The Life and Myth of Charmian Clift (2001)

 

 

 

Use the link below to visit the website of Australian novelist, biographer, historian and children's author NADIA WHEATLEY:

 

 

http://nadiawheatley.com/

 

 

 

 

You might also enjoy:

 

The Write Advice 073: NADIA WHEATLEY

 

The Write Advice 061: CHARMIAN CLIFT

 

Think About It 023: CHARMIAN CLIFT  

 

The Write Advice 073: NADIA WHEATLEY

It is not uncommon for family and friends of authors to feel a mixture of pain and violation when they find pieces of their character or aspects of their experience turning up in a novel.  This is particularly the case, of course, with authors who work in the genre of realism, and especially with those who are themselves recognisable as characters in their texts.  When people take exception to what they perceive as transgressive fictional portraits, it is not necessarily the 'bad' or 'obvious' things that they mind.  The author may inadvertently make public some apparently trivial thing which the character's model felt to be intimate or private or domestic.  At the same time, the author may firmly believe that she or he has 'made up' the character, or has developed it as a composite, and may even be aware of what has been borrowed or used… While all of that can be difficult, it goes with the territory of being in a relationship –– whether as friend or spouse –– with that sort of writer.

The Life and Myth of Charmian Clift (2001)


Use the link below to visit the website of Australian biographer and award-winning children's author NADIA WHEATLEY:

 

http://nadiawheatley.com/

 

 

You might also enjoy:

 
The Write Advice 061: CHARMIAN CLIFT

 
The Write Advice 039: DEBORAH EISENBERG

 
The Write Advice 005: EDNA O'BRIEN