Sometimes, you may want to share your story, but are not wanting to write a memoir for a variety of reasons.
One way you can share your story, or parts of your story, is through fiction.
My first book, Swallow Me, NOW!, was inspired by true events. When I was a child, I was bullied at school, and so were my children. Many of the events in the book reflected our experiences, although the ending is entirely made up.
Even My Mummy is Evil was inspired by true events with my children calling me evil for making them go to bed at normal time during school holidays. While I’m not actually an evil genius, the book does look at the real reasons behind the jobs I set.
When looking at your life for inspiration, you can take a small part, from something someone has said to a family event, or even something that was lifechanging for you, and then change it to make it fiction.
This could be changing character names, the place or time period the story is set, you can even merge a number of experiences to fit the story. It could also be used as a jumping off point for a story.
Part of the reason you may want to share your story through fiction is that you may want to change the world through your story but aren’t ready to share it in memoir. It could also be that you have a story you wish to share to a particular group of people, such as through a picture book or middle grade book, where fiction would be a better method of storytelling than through nonfiction.
Through fiction, you can use different styles and genre to deliver your story. You could write a silly story for children that can give a serious message, or through a picture book with stunning illustrations. You could even set your story in a fantasy realm and reimagine yourself as a magical character.
Stories have a unique power to change lives, and your story could be one of them. By sharing your story through fiction, you could find it in a unique position to reach the person who needs to hear that story.
