Many of my stories are a combination of truth and fiction. I can't help it. Even when I start out with what should be a simple recounting of events, I often end up with facts mixed with digressions and flourishes that tickle my fancy. Stories of this type are Perché Bergamo?, Thoughts on Taking a Sabbatical, You Know It When You Hear It, and Sun Valley - Après Ski.
Some stories are rooted in distant memories, which, from the start, are hazy recollections and perfect territory for "some" reinterpretation and invention. Stories of this ilk are: Broca's Earlobe and A Happy Sound in the Grotto.
Aside: Facts with fiction or fiction with facts? I don't care for two reasons. First, these stories have spent too long time rattling around in my head and writing them down and putting them out into the world clears mental space for fresh ideas, especially new truths and new fantasies. Second, the stories express an emotional truth - as wonderfully expressed by Philip Graham's contribution in the The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction.
The stories Amsler Grids, Hindsight, and An Orphan's Legacy: Maria's Secret are the most straight up in terms of a faithful recounting of facts.
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