Who's writing?

[Daniel]

I just would like to begin a discussion about a theme which, not only myself, but many other sufferers of encephalitis undertake as a passtime post infection : describing either their own experience, or relating something purely fictional (perhaps not even related to encephalitis) as a means of either passing time or discussing their own issues in an indirect way.

I began writing my own experience, in a 'fictionalized non fiction' sense, at the beginning of 2008. I'm still going today and currently nearing the 300 page mark. I flicked back to the beginning and can almost see my own recovery taking place within the words - it begins ludicrously far fetched and fantastic, then slowly returns to normality - something I think is both accurate, and which I originally intended. I'll need to go back, some time in the future, and do some cleaning up of those earlier parts which seem a little silly now.

My intention in beginning this discussion is to see who on this site has begun to write something - not just relating experience of encephalitis, but *anything* which you might be doing on your free time :

* What's it about?
* How do you feel about writing it now, as opposed to when you first began?
* Where do you intend it to go?
* Is there any ultimate theme or message you're trying to convey?

I don't intend for this discussion to be aimed at people posting their entire writing here, just discussing it and any issues or calls for feedback on segments or ideas you want people to provide you with - perhaps excerpts would be more appropriate should there be any need to post anything.

If this topic is slow to get underway, I will eventually begin to describe my own, but I urge any to post here and feel free of suffering criticizm from any other members about anything written here : I *hate* it when people put down the creativity of someone else when doing so is unjustified and, if any unjustified criticizm is incurred, I will duely chew the ear off the critic in question.

[Daniel]

I'll start this off : I'm currently writing a nonfiction-based autobiographical fictional take upon my recovery from this virus (bickerstaffs brainstem and limbic encephalitis).

The writing begins in 2005 and discusses most of what I recall from the 4 hospital stays I had (LanZhou, Hong Kong, Christchurch central, Burwood hospital - in Christchurch).

I say 'fictional' because I don't actually recall enough of China to write with any accuracy. What I've written has been based upon what family, who went to be at bedside while under the impression the worst was possible with a then mystery medical condition, have told me, and my own flashes of memory.

I do have flashes of memory from the hospitals overseas - being visited by all the girls from my class I taught in central China, being guided around the place by my good English speaking teacher friend, Li Guo Fang, to the poor Brazillian kid in Hong Kong opposite me who was a teenager and suffered a stroke after excessive drinking of rice wine one evening - I have *flashes* of these things, but they're like photographic images of familiarity in my mind and lack movement or sound, which is very frustrating.

I intend for the story to start with the fantastic and evolve into the normal, which creates a problem I foresee :

Starting writing in a fantasy genre, with hints of normality in order to make it not obscenely stupid, then virtually changing genre to normal life and prolonged recovery feels like potentially boring the reader after possibly drawing their interest with something imaginative early on, or having those readers who would enjoy a more realistic story give up after sarcastically snorting at the first part.

I want to write true to at least the way this experience has felt - it really has begun as a fantasy world of disbelief slowly melting back to normality - like some LSD trip entitled, 'there and back again', only minus the hobbits or the ring (if you're familiar with 'The Lord of the Rings' by JRR Tolkien).

Has anyone else struck this cross genre dilemma with their writing? How did/will you get around it and keep the story appealing to every reader, rather than making the first part interesting to some, and the second to others?