Inspiration can come from anywhere. Here’s how I landed on From the Top.
I think I was in tenth grade when I first read Tim O’Brien’s iconic Vietnam War novel, The Things They Carried. If you haven’t read it, suffice it to say that you really should. I remember being fascinated by O’Brien’s writing style: he used his true story of fighting in the war as the inspiration for his novel, but he frequently blurred the lines between what really happened and what was fiction.
I remember that a lot of students in my English class took issue with O’Brien’s practice of verisimilitude. They were frustrated that it was hard to tell what was truth and what wasn’t.
But not me. I remember being floored by his work and thinking that, in the end, whether the bits of story were made up or really happened, they were all a part of O’Brien’s greater truth. Each moment served as a window for readers to peek into his private world and see how he understood the war and its impact.
My new book, From the Top, is no The Things They Carried. It would be damn pretentious to even remotely suggest that it came close. But I was heavily inspired by how O’Brien wrote his novel. Time, my own perception and memories, my ever-evolving emotions and maturity all played a role in how I described Warner Robins.
If anyone from my hometown takes the time to read From the Top, I can almost guarantee that they will take issue with some small detail of my Warner Robins. Details are altered here and there. Some are made up entirely. And yet, like O’Brien’s version of the Vietnam War in The Things They Carried, this is exclusively my truth. If you want any insight into my perspective, here it is. Reading From the Top will not be too unlike reading my diary.
So if you take issue with my Warner Robins, that’s fine. I get it. Write me emails. Complain on my Facebook. I don’t care. In the meantime, the next time that I re-read my novel, I’ll be taking my own mini-vacation back to my hometown. And I like it just the way that it is.
xoxo
Brittni
