Is there any place for the truth in writing?

Yes. Well, kind of. It is almost impossible to remove yourself from your own work; feelings and influences will creep their way among the chosen letters of each piece, no matter how hard one tries to eliminate such occurrences. What a person writes tells us a lot about that person, there is some truth there even if it is unintentional. When I say ‘truth’ I mean in terms of the emotion and character of a person, not the factual accuracy of their words. Some have said that John Creever used his work to display his own sexual ambiguity and if so a possibly unspoken truth was found in his writing; if not, and that statement was false, then I can truthfully apologise for my imagination.  

Factual accuracy, even in non-fiction, is never entirely without manipulation. A bias nature is bound to come through and it is up to each of us on how subtle we are when putting our pens to paper.

I believe that every writer starts with their own truths and then decides how much they are willing to unveil to the world.  Truth will always be in writing to some extent, however, even with the noblest of intentions there is unlikely to be a completely honest piece of writing, unless the writer is extremely brave or extremely stupid. Although I seem to have contradicted myself throughout, my overall answer to this question is still:

YES, there is a place for the truth in writing. 

How is it that I became a writer?

Everyone has influences in their lives and our choices are always a product of previous experiences. Each writer will undoubtedly be affected by their surroundings, whether it is their childhood, the society of the time or just the country they called home. Each factor is vital in the development of a writer and their sources of inspiration.
Margaret Atwood, born in 1940, has listed many different factors for her development as a writer. She was born during the war and in a time where the priorities for women were very different to today. Her family, especially her brother, encouraged her to pursue her imagination and the possibilities it may bring. Atwood’s episteme could be a result of the change in style of the writers that inspired her. Her reading, up to the age of sixteen, consisted of three types of books:
1) Books for school study.
2) Acceptable books read openly outside of school.
3) Books suspected of taboo.

These differences in style and subject matter may have formed the foundation for her poetry and other work.

I still feel as though I am yet to be a writer and therefore find it slightly difficult to answer this specific question. I will answer ‘Why do I want to be a writer?’ I have always lived in my own little world and thanks to my experiences in boarding school, where I met some interesting characters, I feel suitably inspired to try my best at a difficult principle. My ideology I have no doubt will adapt over the years, but all I hope is that my work is and remains sufficient enough to please some, and if not, my own satisfaction will have to do.