Usually I read biographies of interesting people. I am not attracted to novels - make-believe, or recreations of what people think life should be.
History books that contain no lies are extremely dull.
So much of what I write in fiction is based on true stories.
I like real stories.
The name of the album is 'Non-Fiction'. And, I'm calling it that because the name of every song on this album is derived from a true story. Now, some of the stories are mine. Some of the stories belong to some of my fans.
I describe incidents which may or may not have happened but which are true.
I'm a big fan of non-fiction, and I am a believer that fact is much more exciting than fiction.
I can't read historical fiction because I find the real thing so much more interesting.
I tend to like to read history - recent history, because I find that much more intriguing than just a writer's imagination.
People say I make up wild stories. But all I have to do is write down stuff that really happens.
Nonfiction brought me back to earth and sobered me up whenever it seemed like I'd become too drunk on the lives and loves of imaginary people, but that doesn't mean it was any less thrilling or transporting, although it was often more illuminating.
Over the years, I have come to realize that no matter how satisfying fiction is, it becomes that much better when it actually happened.
Fiction doesn't appeal to me because it can describe physical appearances exhaustively or because it can offer access to the inner depths of an array of human characters - neither that kind of "realism" of bodily surfaces nor of individual psychologies seems particularly realistic to me.
I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any attention at all.
Read history, works of truth, not novels and romances
Symbolism is alright in 'fiction,' but I tell true life stories simply about what happened to people I knew.
Any good history book is mainly just a long list of mistakes, complete with names and dates. It's very embarrassing.
The most obvious difference between writing novels and memoirs is that my memoirs are true stories, and explore certain experiences I've lived, and thus operate within the boundaries of memory and fact.
History, to be above evasion or dispute, must stand on documents, not on opinions.
The funny thing is that in Bosnia there are no words that are equivalent to fiction and nonfiction. From the storytelling point of view, the difference is artificial.
The legendary yet factual Curtis Wilkie has been the right man in the right place at an uncanny number of extraordinary times.
