Little White Lies...not always so Little!

A little white lie is what you tell your friend when she gets a bad haircut. Or perhaps when your significant other cooks you a horrible dinner but you tell them you love it. A little white lie is when you arrive late because of "traffic" but really you slept in. Those are little white lies, not telling a life story that is untrue, or publishing a memoir that is falsified. Those are great big lies full of exaggeration and manipulation.
Often times, little white lies can turn into great big lies. They may start off with good intentions but manifest into a downward spiral of lie upon lie until it is so big it begins to hurt people. This is what happens more often than not. Unfortunately, it may not have began that way but a lie is a lie no matter what! Including little white lies. Regardless of how innocent the lie may appear, the truth is you are being honest. For instance, if your friend discovers you dislike her hair, she will no longer trust your opinion. If your significant other finds out you dislike their cooking, you could hurt their feelings. Or if your co-worker takes the same route to work with no traffic, you are found to be a liar hurting your credibility.
These little white lies appear to be helping you in the moment but the reality is that unless it is the truth, it's not worth stating. Especially in the case of literary works. Fiction is understood to be the telling of an untrue story and a memoir is understood to be truth based on real experience. Once you begin to confuse the two, the reader no longer trusts the author therefore loosing credibility as a literary genre.
Thus, a lie is a lie is a lie regardless of the intention or outcome. Witholding the truth in any circumstance discredits you of honesty especially as a writer. Trust is the most difficult virtue to earn and once it is broken it is three times more difficult to gain back. Therefore, avoid lying at all costs whether the intention is good or bad. Afterall it's usually the worst problems that began with good intentions.