When Writing the Real Story

If you have been following my blog, then you know my first two novels are about my family, the first one about my mom, and the second about my maternal grandparents.  For those of you who may be stopping by here for the first time, I decided to write about my family for my debut novel and continue that with my next book because I felt they were good stories to tell. Are their stories unique? Perhaps not. Most families go through difficulties, tragedies, good and bad times, even secrets.

I began this process because of a secret my mom kept from her children and she took with her to her grave.  I learned a great deal from writing her story, not just about her, but also my father and other family members. That’s what led me to write about my mom’s parents, and again, I learned so much about them and even what it was like to live in the late 1800s and into the 20th century.  I fictionalized most of the characters, but the events are all true.

The reason I bring this up is for a couple of reasons. First, even though I wrote both novels so that current family members outside of my immediate family will know about past family, but even more I wrote them for future generations.  I know for myself, I wish I knew so much more about my great grandparents, great great grandparents and even further back. Now, because of the stories I have written, I have the satisfaction of knowing family I will never meet will be able to learn about their past relatives.  

My grandparents, featured in both novels.

Secondly, I wanted to share an idea that came from an in-law’s relative, something I more than likely would not have thought of on my own. She suggested that I write down in each book the names of the characters and their real counterparts. Then I will make sure that all current family members have a copy. But also I plan to donate both books and any future books I might write about my family to the local library in my hometown. That way, if any future generations  should decide to research their roots, they will have available to them copies of my books and will be able to easily see who is who.  Obviously, those reading my books today know about the real characters, but that doesn’t mean any future generations will be able to figure that out without having that extra information.  Books can also get lost, given away, even fall apart with lots of wear and tear (and hopefully lots of reading), but having a copy at the library will ensure that there will always be a record for anyone to have access to if and when they decide to dig into their past.

So if you should decide to write your life story or that of your family, and you prefer to fictionalize the characters, then make sure to do the above so that your future family will know you and those who came before you. Hope that was helpful. Enjoy your day!