Clay,
There is more than one kind of truth, and sometimes they are in conflict with one another. Everyone, consciously or unconsciously, makes up some details in telling a story--hence, the notorious unreliability of eyewitnesses. However, there is some inner truth to the experience that the artist tries to get at. So I think we have to be very conscious of our motives in choosing to change details. If we change them to fit in with what we think our readers would expect or approve of, we may be being faithful to the cliché rather than to the truth. Telling the hard truths is part of our job, I think, and the part that takes the most courage.
I feel more sympathy for those who write about other (often famous) people out of an imaginative effort of identification than out of a desire to ride on the coattails of someone else's fame or notoriety. But art is also a matter of taste, so I accept that what works for me is not necessarily what works for others.
Susan
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