Creative nonfiction can be painful. Even a simple story like a secret hiding place when I was little reveals too much. Do you know why children go to secret hiding places? It's because they are scared and they find safety in confined spaces. When it comes to childhood I prefer to write fiction even though the character is really me.

Consider the character of Professor Digory in Narnia and Digory as a child in The Magician's Nephew. The character is exactly the author (Clive Staples), but he chose to write about himself in a fictional context. Sometimes I feel it is easier to write fiction.