I’ve worked with many authors who wonder if they should write fiction or nonfiction. In the era of the memoir, authors have become less inclined to write fiction, which is a shame since so many great novels throughout literature have been based on history and autobiography. Once writers have committed themselves to retelling the true story of their lives, they put themselves under so much pressure to “get it right.” Some of my favorite books, and the ones from which I have learned the most, are historical fiction.
Fiction is such a great vehicle for telling any story, true or imagined, and for creative people it is liberating to be able to tell their stories the way they envision them. This may not always be the same as how they remember them, but may be the path to compelling storytelling.
Some of the shift is probably the ‘reality show’ effect that is permeating the American culture.