Jason Howell asked Claire Fullerton:

Hi Claire. I'm asking this question of several writers, some friends, some strangers... When you take bits of your own memory or real-life experience and insert them into a story, how do you transfer ownership from yourself to the story? Or do you distance yourself at all? Do you prefer to directly confess and let the autobiographical bits stand, emotionally hot? How do you deal with this kind of material? Thanks.

Claire Fullerton I lay my ownership on the page! I simply tell the truth, and the reason is that it occurs to me therein lies the art of story telling. I never distance myself because it is my job to find the best words and the best way of communicating the story, with its attendant emotions, that illustrate the nuances of the human experience as I perceive it. And your using the words "emotionally hot" is perfect. I believe it is the writer's job to call things by name, to comment on the world, relationships, dreams, hopes, fears, predicaments we unwittingly find ourselves in, and even the nature of cause and effect. For this, one has to be honest in their pursuit of making the untenable tenable, so to speak. One has to be fearless and focused on the intention of a story. It starts with a writer being in touch with their truth, and ends with a willingness to share it.

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