The Story Behind the Story
This is not the article I intended to publish today, which was to explore some of the stories behind the narratives in fiction – something which fascinates me.
In my corner of the world it is about to click over midnight and a new day. I have been up for almost twenty hours (having had a few hours broken sleep last night). A good chunk of today has been spent in the air on in departure lounges.
I left home while the almost full moon was up, caught a 6am flight to my nation’s captial to join with more than 2000 other people to protest changes in legislation which will effectively outlaw homebirth in Australia as of 2010. My son was born at home almost five and a half years ago, and homebirth has remained an important part of my life since.
My connecting flights home were all delayed due to a huge storm in Sydney and all the time mentally set aside to write today, were consumed with catching up with long lost friends within the birth reform movement as well as a half hour spell in the gallery of Parliament House, watching my nation’s politicians behave rather badly during Question Time. This is where my first NaNo adventure had my main character’s trajectory set for, so it was amazing to finally see it all being played out in the flesh. To look among the seats and imagine Abby there amongst it all.
My deep held passion for birth reform, homebirth and the profession of midwifery is only just starting to bleed into my fiction work. Any of those following my Fourth Fiction Novella will see a strong presence of birth there. Those who know me away from the page will probably wonder why it has taken so long for this subject matter to wind up in my fiction writing.
So this is the story behind why the story I was intending to share with you, won’t be here today – but I promise it for next week.
Does your passion for other things in life bleed into your fiction? Is is a conscious or unconscious inclusion?
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Write Anything 
Jodi, as you already know, some of my fiction definitely is influenced by the things I feel passionate about. But the problem is that it can then become so familiar. So I’m trying to write in different ways, just to experiment and make it more interesting.
I know what you mean.
One of my biggest passions is relationships. How they work, how to KEEP them working. And I’m going to experiment this NaNo and write 30 short stories (Andrea, didn’t you do that one year?) using the same main character and place her in awkward (and dangerous?) relationship situations.
I’m doing this just to explore another aspect of my writing self, though who knows? If it turns out well enough, then maybe I could weave them all into one big story. (Still hashing this idea out, obviously).
I think incorporating aspects of our passions into our writing is essential – both for our voices and for our stories.
It’s also therapeutic at times. 😀
Don’t they act like children during question time? 😛
Oh Jodi. I feel like the question was directed right at me. Of course, you know the things that I am passionate about come front and centre in my writing. It’s always been there though at times it comes through unconsciously, when I’m not intending it too.
The things I hate about this world are what I want to expose.
But I suppose you already know this but what I want to point out if that I think the things you’re passionate about will come through eventually, even if it is not obvious to you.
One thing I have noticed in my writing is that disability tends to feature. Though I think this is mainly because I’m disabled. It’s not something I have particularly strong feelings around.