Writing fiction close to home

Abstract

How do you develop a narrator who does not feel autobiographical to the author? This is the very real concern of a self-conscious writer who reproduces his hometown on the page.Two themes emerge in this paper: there is first the notion of reflection, of removing oneself physically from 'home', in order to turn around and see it in a new light, allowing for a more objective relationship between writer and setting. Out of this distancing develops the second theme, that of voice. I work to create a narrator with a distinct voice, specifically an idiolect that is not my own, to further allow myself to step out and away from that setting, and let it 'speak' for itself.The development of this new narrator is not an affectation but a vehicle of enablement. By using someone else's voice, I can draw from my own observations and experiences without the vice-grip of self-implication. This essay describes the relationship between the author and the narrator, and the subsequent constraint of speaking with another's mouth.