By Robert K. Wilcox
I don’t know whether James Frey lied in his best-selling memoir “A Million Little Pieces,” as the website “Smoking Gun” has alleged. It's beginning to look like he did. The Random House book was sold as nonfiction and if he lied in it that is a fraud. But I was as surprised as Jenna Glatzer, editor of “Absolute Write Newsletter,” to which I subscribe, to learn that some on her message board would still buy “Pieces” because “a good story is a good story.”
Ms. Glatzer is right in denouncing lying in nonfiction. It's an obvious prohibition but one apparently missed by some who would call themselves writers. I make my living mostly by writing nonfiction. Anyone who condones lying on the basis of it being a good story, or anything else, shows 1) that they are an amateur and 2) they lack integrity. And if you don't have integrity as a writer you're a hack. No professional would ever sanction lying in nonfiction. The essence of nonfiction is truth.
I started out on newspapers in the 1960s. In those days, the papers didn't have the political bent they do today. A president hadn’t lied under oath. I would have cut off my right arm rather than not try and get both sides. Mistakes? Yes, we made them. But lie? It was unthinkable, shameful, unheard of. The tough, hard newsmen and women I worked with would have fired me on the spot and then probably kicked my ass. They made their living getting as close to the facts as possible. It was a matter of pride and professional standards, as well as integrity. We all bring our prejudices and attitudes to what we write, if only by the selection of what we write. It's hard enough to keep that bias to a minimum. Writing is noble but only if we adhere to rigid standards.
I have the same appreciation for a good story as do all good writers. But if its not truth, I call it fiction. In the book world, its a novel. And that’s not to denigrate the genre, one of which I’ve had published. And I've written many produced scripts. Fiction can be even more truthful than facts when it illuminates universal truth. But you have to label it as such. I hadn't thought of the monetary hit such lying will bring nonfiction authors like myself until Jenna mentioned it. This controversy may make buyers leery of nonfiction and consequently harder for nonfiction writers to get advances which enable them to write. But that's okay. All writers have to learn to deal with the money problem. As far as scrutiny, it's not a problem. To real writers, not lying in nonfiction is as automatic as breathing.
I'll go one step further. In seeking truth and accuracy, a good writer knows there's the possibility of reaching a higher level of realism, almost a spiritual level, that if attained will elevate the writing. It’s like the solving of story problems at night. Go to sleep and mysteriously your unconscious presents you with the answer in the morning. Research and verification - truth - is the “night” in nonfiction. It preps the mind and illuminates what was until then unseen and not understood. Good writers seek that plateau and when one does its magic. You’ve nailed it. Abandon truth and you've got no chance.