Writer
For the longest time I wrote only nonfiction. I was never entirely happy that this genre is named in terms of what it is not – this is not fiction. However, it did inspire a useful note to post above the desk:
Find out what the thing really is. Work with that. Don’t be making stuff up.
I still like that sticky note, but after staring at it for quite some time I have begun making stuff up. I’ve been enjoying writing flash fiction and have a novel in the works.
Of course, I take some trouble to have my imaginary people live in a fact-checked world. They don’t seem to mind, and it makes me feel better.