In CNF, ethics are signifcant. It's easy to get lost in the writing when you get so caught up in a story that you may distort some facts for a better audience reaction. Emotional writing needs to remain as factual emotional writing. Especially when recalling a memory -- you want others to feel what you were feeling. Therefore you may exaggerate some facts which is a quick and easy way to turn any story into fiction even if for a moment. A way to avoid this is by perhaps going off a personal journal if one was used. Going off a journal not only helps retrieve a memory more accurately, but it can give detailed feelings of how you felt at an exact moment and that would be a nice touch to any story.
Privacy is also very important. You need to make sure that people included in the story are aware of their being in it. Especially if you're writing a personal story about someone else. If things are to be completely factual, sometimes the town they reside in is needed or their family issue becomes involved. It's disrespectful and can get a writer in a lot of trouble by revealing too much or at least without their permission. If a minor fact such as the name of the person you're writing about needs to be changed, the reader needs to be aware of it and it is as simple as a small explanation of it. It is good to keep a line between how much should/what's necessary to be shared and what's too much to share to readers you don't know.
I agree, its hard with emotional writing because emotions can blur the truth. It is okay to show how you feel, as long as you remain truthful to what really happened. Personal journals are a great idea! Never thought of that as a helpful way to help recall a specific moment in time. Privacy is yes, extremely important and its important to inform those in your story that they are being written about.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Also, I believe that we should leave some insignicant details out because sometimes those experiences are the hardest to remember. If you're writing a personal essay and there's some event or experience in your life that you can't remember it's best to not include at all then to fabricate some story about what actually happened. Sometimes it's best to focus on how whatever happened made you feel in the moment and you do have to consider how much of your past experience do you want to share. I believe that there should be some privacy in your writing for yourself and those that you choose to include in your writing.
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