How do you turn real life into real fiction?

Writing a novel that deals with child trafficking and prostitution – how do you turn real life into real fiction?

By Emily Pattullo

I know… I realise it was a risk for a newcomer to take on such a weighty subject, but I didn’t want to creep in the back door apologetically, I wanted to do a commando roll through the front window and land at the feet of someone who was willing to take a risk with me.

So I searched my darkest recesses (and the internet) and pulled out a story that exposes the festering bowels of our society; a place where it’s OK to traffic and exploit young children and use them to service our own desires. But I’ve tried to do it in such a way that brings it closer to home: lays it firmly at our doorstep, wherever we may live.

Rosie discovers a gate leading to an old war bunker where she sees some mysterious men. The men turn out to be child traffickers, and the rebellious fourteen-year-old gets caught and taken to London along with many other children that have been shipped into the country. Rosie faces prostitution, the plight of others much worse off than her, as well as her own demons, all while her brother Ted and student journalist Martha – with help from a few friends along the way – scour London and its dark recesses in a race to save Rosie before it’s too late.

But where I fear I’ve come up short (and this is the question I put to my fellow bloggers) is at the fine line between conceivable fiction and non-fiction. It’s a thriller for young adults, a made-up story; but how do I make it believable?

BTW, I’m Emily Pattullo, newbie and wannabe big-time author, flailing around uselessly at the edge of a huge pool. 

Emily will be a regular contributor for the Brit Writers' blog.