Fiction Is Not One Size Fits All
As I prepare for the launch of my Writing Fiction to Heal Workshop, I’ve been thinking a lot about the ways we define “fiction.” In the workshop, I refer to it in its most common form, the novel. But I want to be loud and clear here — there are many forms of fiction. And this process works for just about anything. I’ve used the process/approach with songwriters, graphic novelists, filmmakers, and scriptwriters, etc.
Here’s the not-so-secret “secret”: it doesn’t actually matter what the end result is. It doesn’t matter what label you put on it. It doesn’t matter because what truly matters is the process. What matters is how it felt to create and explore and find yourself in pursuit of that end result.
But let me be VERY direct here: detaching from the outcome is hard. It’s usually the part I see people struggle with the most. And I can understand why. We are constantly told in our society that one must have a tangible outcome to achieve. That one must have something to “show” for our efforts. But that completely misses the point.
Yes, it’s a wonderful feeling to tangibly see the fruits of your labor. That is undeniable… but that’s not where the magic happens. The magic happens within YOU. The magic happens when you allow yourself to fully commit to the process, to discovering or re-discovering yourself.
You have the magic inside of you already — you just need to learn how to wield it.
I’ll hop off my soapbox now to show you a few examples of ways fiction can look like other things outside of a novel.
Graphic Novels
I’ve been drawn to graphic novels for quite some time, but I tend to skew toward the darker or more emotional ones. And once I started going down the rabbit hole of graphic novels that explore trauma and emotional upheavals I realized how many were written to help the authors heal. My therapist actually recommended a few, even.
A few of my personal favorites are:
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince
But there are a ton more out there! For a more complete list, see this user-generated list on Goodreads as well as a list of graphic novels by Black artists.
Best Autobiographical Graphic Novels
5 graphic novels by Black authors
Fanfiction
This is a genre that gets a lot of shit thrown its way, but I’d like to introduce a fantastic article that explains how Fanfiction can actually benefit a writer both psychologically but also craft-wise.
Five Psychological Benefits of Writing Fanfiction
What I love about fanfiction is the same thing I love about Writing Fiction to Heal — that you’re using writing it for yourself first and foremost. The thing about fanfiction is that you’re starting from a place of establishment (much like in writing fiction to heal, where you’re starting from reality). So in order to write about characters, storylines, emotions within fanfiction, you have to have a solid grasp on what the foundational story is. Most people erroneously assume that fanfiction is “easy” to write because the characters have been established but that couldn’t be further from the truth. If you are a writer concerned with keeping with the world and the characters, you have to intimately know them and be able to work in existing characteristics, worlds that are already familiar. It’s actually quite difficult to manage it all. Fanfic writers definitely don’t get the credit they are due. I found this out when I was commissioned to work on two different fanfiction side-stories. It was harder to write those stories than my own and I give props and love to fanfiction writers everywhere.
Movies
Exploring trauma and emotional upheavals through the film is not a new concept. Filmmakers and scriptwriters have been doing it for ages. There’s something surreal and “otherworldly” about watching it play out in front of our eyes (rather than imagining it ourselves). Because of the film’s ability evoke so many more senses, it can often speak to us more concretely than other forms of fiction.
Just like with novels though, not all creators are willing or able to come forward about the reality or origins of the story that propelled them to write the script. Others though are open and happy to share their “origin” stories.
A recent film that comes to mind in this genre is Honey Boy — the fictionalized but also allegedly “true” story of Shia LaBeouf. He wrote the script while in a treatment center undergoing counseling for PTSD. I’m not surprised that with proper therapy and creative guidance, his experience resulted in a script. That’s the magic of creative expression and healing.
The film itself is a fantastic foray into childhood trauma and the aftermath of self-introspection (both the good and bad). Despite what the media or society thinks of LaBeouf, I find him to be a fascinating person who dives headfirst into self-awareness, introspection, and life even if he knows it will end badly.
Here are a few great articles about LaBeouf’s mixing of reality and fiction:
'Honey Boy' Is Shia LaBeouf's Intense And Mesmerizing Movie Memoir
How Much of Honey Boy Really Happened to Shia LaBeouf?
How Shia LaBeouf confronts his troubled relationship with his father in ‘Honey Boy’
Side Note: I can’t ever talk about Shia LaBeouf without recommending a stellar book of poetry from my friend, Erin Dorney. I Am Not Famous Anymore is a collection of erasure poetry sourced from media interviews with Shia LaBeouf. It’s incredible. Please take a moment to check it out if you’re a fan of erasure poetry and/or Shia LaBeouf.
Though I’ve only hit on three other “types” of fiction, you can bet there are hundreds more out there. That is the nature of creativity, itself. Healing doesn’t happen in a vacuum, neither does creation or creativity.
I tell my students in my writing workshops and creative community that committing to the process of creative exploration and expression is one of the most valuable things you can do for your healing and for yourself. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve built a workshop around supporting survivors to do just that in the context of writing fiction.
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If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of writing fiction to heal, consider signing up for My Writing Fiction to Heal Workshop!
