That title sounds like I'm going to bash our judicial system or something. It was purposely misleading. And that's part of my quandary this morning: I had a thought as I have been working on a short personal narrative piece with my darling little seventh graders (and the stinky ones, too). And I know I haven't really concerned myself too much with this in the past, but I started thinking about the ethics behind writing personally. How personal is too personal? When I attempt to write about my past, do I take pains to change the names of the guilty, or innocent, as the case may be? Or do I let it all hang out and not care who sees the blood, sweat, and barbecue stains on the laundry?
What are the repercussions of telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth as far as my mind dictates? I know that over time my version of an episode changes; it gets better. And usually it continues to improve with each retelling. So where do I draw the line? Is there some invisible boundary that when I cross it all my writing credentials spontaneously combust? The cliche reports that truth is stranger than fiction, but when does others' strangeness and quirkiness need to be protected? When is it authentic detail, and when is it "TMI," as my students love to misuse? Of course, I never want to disparage anybody (most of the time), and I'm not too cool with defamation of character, slander, or the like. What is going to convict me?
In the past, I haven't really cared, or maybe the better way to put it is that I haven't cared to write anything that might be considered too personal by other involved parties. I don't worry about sharing when I farted during algebra in 7th grade or when I peed on a rattlesnake, but it's when I involve other people--friends, enemies, civilian casualties, not-so-innocent bystanders--that I start to get a titch nervous.
Regardless, I'm a little stuck due to my newly-overly cautious ethics sensors (maybe its my dissertation jitters coming out--running the use of human subjects past the IRB); they're a little crossed.
Any thoughts on that?
Hmm...in cases like these it is always better to protect the innocent. That said, I would go ahead and write your life history the way it was, warts and all.
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