Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

My writers workshop kept me on the straight and narrow while working on The Incident, my first novel. I was encouraged to write often, every day in fact. And every week, I read my work to the other participants–smart people, some already published, some aspiring authors, but all contributing insights that either validated mine or offered new ones I hadn’t considered. After almost three years, I have put together approximately 80,000 words, comprising some 330 pages, to create a psychological thriller. (Now all I have to do is find a literary agent and publisher - even more difficult than writing it!)

One of the things that struck me during my workshop sessions was when someone in the group questioned a particular situation or character in my story. I would often say, “But that really happened.”

“So what?” was the response. “It’s not believable.”

As Mark Twain said, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.”

This supposition sent me back to the drawing board more than once to rewrite scenes or characters into more realistic, albeit fictionalized, versions of the truth so readers would find the story credible.

One of the main characters in my story is made CEO of a company without having significant prior business experience. While in reality, this can happen (and does), my workshop colleagues cried foul and said that won’t fly. So I wrote that development in such a way that made it more plausible. The newly appointed CEO became the company owner’s son-in-law.

Here’s a related excerpt from the book:

“What would you think about taking over?” said Herbert. “Not permanently, but at least for a while. I need someone to pull in the reins over there. Monk spent money faster than my ex-wife.”

Herbert’s eyes drilled into his son-in-law’s looking for a sign of hesitation. He saw none. Becker’s face was a cement barricade, as always. It was one of the things he liked most about the German since he had insinuated himself into life on the estate and Wirth Holdings through his sharp mind, competence and loyalty. Whatever emotions Becker had were kept in his private, unassailable vault, and Herbert saw that this occasion was no different.

Nepotism allows this circumstance to become conceivable.