You live through your characters

 “Fiction, for me, is sort of a protracted way of saying all the things I wished I said the night before.” – Christopher Buckley

The only child of arch-conservative author and speaker William F. Buckley, Christopher was born on this day in 1952 and has made his own way in the writing world as a noted humorist and satirist, creating such well-known works as The White House Mess, No Way To Treat A First Lady and Thank You For Smoking – the latter made into a terrific film as well.

Buckley’s humorous pieces have appeared in all of the nation’s            

leading newspapers, and he also has had an ongoing career as a magazine writer and editor, particularly at Forbes.   And, Buckley has done considerable time in p.r. and says that “In public relations, you live with the reality that not every disaster can be made to look like a misunderstood triumph.”  As a former p.r. practitioner myself, I have to simply add, How True!

Buckley’s p.r. efforts were primarily in the political arena and his first-hand knowledge of the political world has often provided the base for his  satirical fiction, which he says he finds most enjoyable.  And, he says writing is a great way to live a life you might only imagine, noting, “You live vicariously through your characters.”

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