The Fiction That Feels Like Memory
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Marty |
Several years ago, a former classmate read one of my blog
posts and—without hesitation—declared that Marty, the central female
character in the Reunion Duology,
had to be based on a real girl. She was so certain, in fact, that no amount of
authorly denial could sway her.
Why? Because, in her words, “Jim’s feelings for Marty
were just so strong.”
I’ve been turning that over in my head ever since. To be
clear: Marty is fictional. She’s not a thinly veiled version of anyone I knew
well—though her physical appearance was inspired by a classmate I barely spoke
to, someone whose yearbook photo struck a quiet chord fifteen years later. That
image became a door I stepped through in 1998 to imagine a character who was
vivid, smart, guarded, hopeful—and, yes, magnetic enough to pull someone like
Jim Garraty into her orbit.
If Marty feels real, it’s because I poured a good
deal of emotional truth into her, even if the details are invented. She’s
stitched together from memory, from imagination, and from the stories I needed
to tell at the time. Maybe, just maybe, that’s the reason she resonates.
Funny how fiction can feel more familiar than memory
sometimes
So, to my classmate: thank you. Your certainty tells me I
did something right.
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