Telling The Truth In Writing

In a Newsweek interview, Frank McCourt confessed that he fumbled in the dark for about 15 years before finally finding his footing and voice as a teacher in New York City classrooms. His third memoir Teacher Man is an insight into his less famous but possibly more powerful vocation. According to the journalist, 'Now he's told the tale of that experience so well that when you've finished it, you don't envy him. You envy his students.' What's interesting though is the correlation he makes between teaching and writing.

"Teaching is like writing," he says. "You have to find your tone. And you have to tell the truth. If you put on a mask, they'll find you out every time."

An interview in TIME, meanwhile, revealed that Nicole Ritchie also believes in writing based on truth and experiences. Her new novel (TIME's words, not mine!) The Truth About Diamonds chronicles the journey of a rock princess coming of age. When asked what she could possibly have to say at the age of 24, she quipped:

I was approached to write a self-help book and I didn't feel like taking on that responsibility. I'm still growing myself. But writing a story is something every girl does, even when she's little. I spoke to my Dad [singer Lionel Richie] and asked him how he writes his songs and he said he just grabs his experiences from his life and turns them into songs so I took that approach.