The WIP I just finished writing is set in the punk-rock California of the mid-80’s and tells of the friendship between two teenage girls, their adventures and the events which changed both of their lives.
It is a book I have tried to write for ten years.
And the reason it took so long for me to get the voice, the narrative and the plot right is because the story was a very personal one for me.
When I began thinking about it initially, I had decided that it would be memoir.
Then I thought about narrative fiction (which is a clever way of being mostly autobiographical but not getting into trouble for telling a few ‘lies’ along the way).
I wrote in the third person.
I wrote it in a hard-boiled style. Dark, gritty, like Denis Johnson’s Jesus’s Son. Filled it with crime-ridden streets and hustlers.
But none of those fit. I think I was trying too hard and it wasn’t flowing. The writing seemed artificial to me, as if I was badly copying someone else. Always a mistake.
So I took a break and wrote some other books.
When we write we tend to draw from life and that’s good, but you can’t write directly from life because it doesn’t read well.
And when I came back to the story, I think I was perhaps a better writer, having gotten many more words under my belt, and having experienced what didn’t work, I was able to see what might.
The important thing for me was to capture the voice, the feeling of the time, the friendship, the spirit of the girls. And the best (and only) way to do that was to distance myself from the characters- because that’s what they were now- characters– and at the same time not pull any punches. I switched from 3rd to 1st because I wanted my narrator’s voice to be very clear. I wanted the reader to feel what she was feeling. I wanted to force myself to really dig in there, and strip away all the flowery language and reveal what was underneath. I wanted to remember.
This is a sad story filled with humor and character. One of the girls survives; one does not. But I also wanted to capture a time and a spirit that was life-changing for me. And a person who meant everything to me and who I lost.
This is not a book about Jo. But it might be a book about how I felt when I was 17, on my own, and racing to experience everything that was out there.
And it might be a book about friendship.
I hope so.
I had a 'sort of' similar experience with the first novel I wrote, Truth Teller. These type of stories that come from the heart are always the best stories.
Was it hard for you to figure out the fictional way to retell a true life story?
No, my story was a purely fictional story that included a real life character, so it was kind of different. It was someone that I lost though. Not in the same way as you, but lost all the same. It was the emotional aspect (in my humble view) that made the story so good. Real emotions is something that everyone can relate to.
It truly sounds amazing to me, Jo. I can't wait to buy a copy.
Thanks Jay! Right now, just hoping my agent and my editor like it!
Emailman- you have to figure out how to honor the real person but write a good tale at the same time. And of course you can't just transcribe real life. I thought that attempting to capture her spirit was the best way to go.