Truth in Fiction, Fiction in Truth

Every two weeks, I post at Oh Get a Grip, part of a set of ten erotic writers who together explore all sorts of topics. The topic right now is "True Stories." Many other people had written on the ways truth comes out in fiction, even if the story is made up. I decided to write on how fiction, and its techniques, come into truth, even when I'm doing my best to relay the story as it happened.

Here's a snip:

I can shift the true stories of my life in all sorts of ways. I could use them to tear myself down for sluttiness and risky behavior. I could use them to portray myself as an interesting, adventurous, experimental person. I’ve done both. And sometimes I wonder if there’s any really “true” way to see it all. It’s a true story, so there are true things about me in it. What those things add up to, though, is complicated, and, to some degree, chosen. I’m a writer, and it seems like I do get to write myself, depending on how I tell this and many other stories.

If you'd like to read the rest, you can do it here.