Writers On Writing: Phillip Lopate
August 16, 2021
When writing a first-person narrative, we can turn to Phillip Lopate’s essay “On the Necessity of Turning Oneself into a Character” (Griffin 15) for ideas on how we can use our “character” to tell our story. In his essay, “On the Necessity of Turning Oneself into a Character,” Phillip Lopate writes on why he feels it is necessary to “turn oneself into a character” when writing nonfiction from the first person narrative perspective.
Indeed, Lopate posits that “the people on the page—it scarcely matters whether they appear in fiction or nonfiction—will need to be knowable enough in their broad outlines to behave “believably,” at the same times as free willed enough to intrigue us with surprises.” (Griffin p. 15) In other words, readers need someone or something to identify with and connect with when they read a nonfiction essay or a piece of fiction.
We are all unique beings, and as Lopate says, “Who wants to read about that bland creature, the regular Joe?” (Griffin p. 16) My thoughts when reading Lopate’s essay drifted to my own characteristics and behavior that sets me apart from others. It is precisely because I am a “character,” one who is unique and different, as so many who know me say, that I write sometimes with ease and other times with trepidation, from the self, sharing my idiosyncrasies’ in the form of the word. I write to unburden my heart and soul. I write in speculation, to share my life, my knowledge and my experience that I might touch even just one person with my words that they may know there is someone else out there who might feel what they feel and cannot themselves commit to words.
When a writer engages in first person narrative non-fiction, they bring a sense of communal communication to the page, created by the speculative mind of a character, which is vital to the engagement of both the writer and the reader. When we work to bring our character self onto the page, we are honing our writer’s voice, mining the aspects of personality that will engage readers.
Phillip Lopate’s essay “On the Necessity of Turning Oneself into a Character” can be found in Connie’s Griffin’s book “To Tell the Truth.”
“To Tell the Truth,” is the first craft book I read on writing creative nonfiction. I’ve read countless other books on the genre, but Griffin’s remains the best I’ve read. I turn to Griffin’s text often. I highly recommend getting a copy of the book whether you are just getting started in the creative nonfiction genre, or you’ve been writing in the genre for some time.
