What is Autofiction? | Writing a fictionalized memoir

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Autofiction, or autobiographical fiction, is a term used to describe novels that are heavily based on the author's life. Today we're looking at the reasons you might choose to write autofiction, the difference between autofiction and memoir, and how the term is used.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - What is autofiction?
0:35 - Why write autofiction?
2:55 - Is autofiction a genre?
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Опубликовано:

27 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 39

@harryharrison2465 2 года назад

Thanks for this . For naming something I'm doing but was struggling with. I'm 45 k into a novel inspired by people and a neighbourhood in London decades ago. Of course real life doesn't have the structure, story arc and other necessary devices of fiction. For that reason my work started as a 'novel of stories' which is an interesting genre itself. Think of The Dubliners. Gradually I've layered in overarching plot, a romance and melded several characters into one for simplicity. Finally, when the 'flow' of writing kicked off, new characters emerged, fully formed that I had never known, and astounded me with their unbidden detail. Fiction working it's magic. So I guess writing about yourself is a way into fiction, but story and character take over once you're into it. So my protagonist started out like me, virtuous and kind (aren't we all) but to my surprise, turned out to be a very disreputable character indeed. What I like about this approach Is that writing about your own story can let loose your authentic voice, your hopes and fears, then when underway you have the freedom to be creative.

@annaconsta 2 года назад

I would love to write an autofiction novel or short story at some point, because some crazy stuff happened to me in the past and I want to make public that such things do happen :)

@sohatyi 2 года назад

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a great example of autofiction, in my opinion. Obviously people know it was vaguely autobiographical.

@TroyAaronRatliff 2 года назад

Came to mention this. I guess Gonzo Fiction doesn’t fit in the modern lexicon

@ExploreEmbraceExpress 2 года назад

I have been wondering about this very subject, so thank you so much for posting this!

@expertionis794 2 года назад

The memoirs of lady trent is a series i just finished this morning so its funny you posted this today.

@musicformusos5196 Год назад

Shuggie Baine by Douglas Stewart is an amazing work of autofiction. Also, I think it's useful to mention that many writers turn to autofiction to avoid libel and being accused of slander, defamation of character and the protection of privacy that memoirs come up against. It would be great if you did a video on this area as there seems a real dearth of the subject on RU-vid.

@KM-pz2gf 2 года назад

I've been looking for this term for a week! I just graduated college and the idea to write a memoir of some of my experiences. However, it became apparent that there were some things I was not ready to share and let people know that happened to me. This is perfect because I would like to maintain a veil of privacy on what did or did not really happen.

@AjasAura 2 года назад

Same here well said

@dawngaines8694 Год назад

Thank you for the breakdown. Simple and to the point.

@sultannasir5546 2 года назад

Thanks for explaining the term very nicely and for dilating upon why it is safe to write personal experiences in the garb of fiction. My favorite work of autofiction is Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The novel/novella written in 1899 (and published in 1902) is based on Conrad's actual experiences in Congo in the year 1890.

@drpat22 Год назад

I have written about 120K words of a novel and felt a bit uneasy bc it's based on many things that happened to me. Now I know it's autofiction and it's ok. The facts are real, how they played out is the fiction part, so I will soldier on.

@sarahsiddique7501 10 месяцев назад

All the best!

@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy 2 года назад

Good info!

@HIGHLANDER_ONLY_ONE Год назад

My life is very interesting and so is my large close family. The thing is, many of the people involved including my siblings are innocent victims themselves, and I do not want to reveal their life to the world. So, I'm currently outlining an auto fiction to protect the innocent, and allows for me to create tiny bits of stories, in between the large truth. I still do not want my family to know I wrote it, so names and places will be changed. I'm from a different country, and English is not my language, thus by living in the USA, I'm hoping there's a separation large enough, which allows me to do this quite conspicuously. I can't wait to start, because it's a hard, sad and interesting piece, how I grew and changed, overcoming what I would have been destined to become, if I flooed that path. and share, yet not openly. Thank you for your video!!! 🥀

@PEGGLORE 7 месяцев назад

I have without doubt had the most craziest, most eventful, interesting, unlikely life of anybody of all time. My book will devastate the world with their confusions about whether my stories and claims are actually true or fiction. What a concept this shall be..

@markhnk 2 года назад

The Sarah Book by Scott McClanahan is a recent auto fiction favorite. A kind of variant of auto fiction that I find really interesting is Transrealism: Science Fiction mixed with autobiographical elements.

@harryturnbull1884 11 месяцев назад

Im writing a collection of autofiction short stories but I don't see much out there on this unique method.

@user-nq9ur9up9b 2 года назад

Thanks 😊

@Rob.Chapman 2 года назад

I hadn't thought about writing auto-fiction before, but I journal about myself a lot that I am now.

@milestrombley1466 2 года назад

Isn't most movies based on true events are autofictions?

@candellina6 2 года назад

I'm assuming Louise May Alcott is a prime example for this genre?

@Anu-sq6hd 2 года назад

💙

@flatdude4667 2 года назад

Love your vids. I have one question; which font/s would you recommend for a YA fantasy novel? I am currently formatting my book and I'm struggling with this. Many thanks :-)

@rachelthompson9324 2 года назад

I'd go with industry open source standards or you'll need to pay for the font. I use a book designer to figure that out for me but that info is public knowledge. For submissions the most used and generally accepted is Times New Roman or Courier.

@flatdude4667 2 года назад

@@rachelthompson9324 Thanks so much Rachel. :-)

@garywalker80 2 года назад

What different plot structures would you recommend for writing autofiction? Are there any that you think could work better than others and why would that be?

@jesssoreal 2 года назад

I have a book getting ready to come out under Autofiction. All the names in my book are not real, including my own. The main character in my book name is Bessie and my real name is Jessica and one of my nicknames is Jessie. So right now I am going to fictionalized certain things I cant remember like certain places and how they look and maybe streets or how I would have wanted certain people to act. Things like that. But the entire story is true and not made up at all. I also wanted to write it like this without real names so I can reach the Genz generation. Of course my book is for my generation Millennials. So this is what makes my book a more fictionalized memoir.

@eflowers8306 Год назад

I want to write a story but I'm not sure it would fall under this term. It's purely fictional and not really tied to my own life but I was wanting to write it similar to how a memoir is written. Not sure what that would fall under.

@rachelthompson9324 2 года назад

my real life to this point is too unbelievable to make it into fiction. Fiction must seem real. I'll stick to writing novels and short stories.

@fleur6711 2 года назад

That would make your story interesting to read if it's "too unbelievable"!

@riverchild215 4 месяца назад

Is 'Autofiction' also a 'Creative Non-Fiction'?

@randyattwood 2 года назад

Do you accept books to review?

@u_t_d_s_h-1_a 2 года назад

I think there's a lot of over embelishment of truth in fictional memoirs: the writers invent or over dramatize their exploits if at they have any, and while at it---hide the aspects of their lives that might yet be embarrassing

@jimmydroid7838 2 года назад

I'm trying to come up with titles for my new autofiction book. Here's what I got... Circus Life: a clownish story Boner: a priapism story Gas Life: a.fatty story in five parts. Triple X: my life in porn Crabby: hateful poems for a lovable world. Kissing frogs & pissing vinegar: a love story.