Non-Fictional Storytelling

Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story. Don't exaggerate just to prove a point. Somewhere in between these two aphorisms is a middle ground of nonfiction storytelling that includes celebrity tell-alls, rambling adventure stories, and the autobiographical laments of murderous ex-cons. All of them walk this vague line of accuracy that makes for great literature.

I wouldn't think it worthwhile to handicap yourself with honesty in the literary world outside of investigative journalism, but these things can come back to haunt you. Particularly if your writing leans on the misadventures of people that are still alive. That's why the murderous ex-cons have it so good. They don't worry about the consequences. Pure, unadulterated description. Realism without the repercussions. It's one of the few times you can get brutal honesty, really ever. That element of social abandon is hard to come by in this world. Their only drawback is that awkward dependance on brutal vice.

That's why the celebrity gossip tome is so essential. Carl Panzram had to kill and rape 40 people to make his life story interesting, but Audrey Hepburn needs only to kiss Hoagy Carmicheal on the set of "The Captain and I" and the world is aghast. It's that much more intriguing for much lesser events only so long as their transient fame holds any weight.

The rambling travel or adventure story can have more similarities to the murderous bildungsroman of a serial killer than the celebrity soap opera, but with more symbolic relevance. They both have that theme of alienation from society since the characters in an adventure story are usually outcasts in some regard, or at least they are separated from society while travelling, like Huckleberry Finn. They view society from the outside and can comment on it without any hint of pretension. Unlike the serial killer story, the characters are sane enough to be believed, but the adventure story doesn't have that true alienation that comes from accidentally killing somebody over a poker game and going on the lam.

A perfect novel might encapsulate all of these categories into a single narrative about a celebrity that goes on a cross-country killing spree. That is, Natural Born Killers. Hmm.. let me rethink this theory.

Addendum: Other types of non-fictional storytelling of interest not mentioned here are erotic adventure, con artist roman a clef, circus performer bildungsroman, psychedelic military history, political insider tell-all, and hippie auto manual.

—August 5th, 2004

• » Punchlines Without Jokes For Modern Times