On Being Careful

David Finkel said once that narrative writers 10 years ago had the benefit of the readers' doubt, but it's different now. We must be honest and transparent with our work. I thought of this tonight while reading Tom Hallman's The Riddle In Room 114, which ran Sunday, then this line-by-line rebuttal from the subject of his story.

I'm not sure where the truth lies, and I hope for all of us that Hallman's piece was truthful.

However this thing plays out, remember that none of us can afford to sacrifice accuracy for pretty writing, or trade a hint of truthfulness for a nice transition or scene. We are reporting stacks of facts, observed or reported. We tread on dangerous ground by putting thoughts into heads or unfairly steering subjects toward our notions of what their stories should be.