Everyday Canvas

Balance Between Exposure and Discretion in Writing

The reason I like fiction is: you can hide very well; although sometimes, this works in reverse. Once I wrote a flippant Turkey/Thanksgiving story, totally made-up, at the end of which the main character becomes pregnant. At that time, we had a member here in WdC who took everything for real. She congratulated me for my pregnancy. Lol! That would be a medical miracle.

On the other hand, there was Fritz Perls of Gestalt Therapy long ago, who at one point, influenced me greatly, and probably influenced Clint Eastwood, too, to talk to an empty chair during the Republican Convention. Clint Eastwood aside, I read Perls’ every book I could get my hands on in those years. Perls told everything about his life, good or bad, and at one point (I think it was in In and Out the Garbage Pail), he confessed to some shady stuff that he did, and he ended it by saying that he’s free of all his garbage, and no one or himself can worry about it from then on.

I agree with him to a point. It is fine to face one’s own shortcomings and mistakes in life. It is even better if they were in a personal diary, not for publishing.

A writer, however, can expose what he’s comfortable with, since the most successful writers give a lot from their own experiences for the signal of truth in their writing. Even sci-fi and fantasy authors write from personal experience; however, what they write is only loosely attached to their experience.

As to more realistic writing, one’s personal tragedies may be interesting at first, but at the end they will wear out their welcome, and they may become redundant. Hemingway said, “Forget your personal tragedy. We are all bitched from the start and you especially have to be hurt like hell before you can write seriously. But when you get the damned hurt, use it-don't cheat with it.”

As for me, I am more on the cautious side, especially where online writing is concerned. I am not too secretive about my own personal experiences, but I try to protect the other people involved in them.

In general, I think striking a balance between self-exposure and discretion depends on each writer’s own comfort zone.

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Prompt: I was thinking today about this. How do we strike a balance between self exposure and discretion with our writing. I am sure each of us has a comfort zone but how? Will what we publish hurt someone? Will it embarrass us in years to come? Am I the only one who thinks about this when I write?