I have this odd habit of writing real experiences that happen to me into my storys. It might be a bad form of displacement, but it helps me work though things emotionally. Just curious, does anybody else do that?
Also sorta in the same thought do you ever feel bad about tormenting your chars for the sake of conflict?
Posted by Lord Darkstorm (Member # 1610) on :
I try and avoid writing about myself....I don't wish to bore people.
I do like torturing a character, that is what makes a story better. Well, there is one catch, you have to have a reason for it happening. As long as you keep it believable, it works.
LDS
Posted by TheoPhileo (Member # 1914) on :
Stephen King does it in every book. (Ever notice the majority of his protagonists are authors, often alcoholic?)
[This message has been edited by TheoPhileo (edited April 14, 2004).]
Posted by Lord Darkstorm (Member # 1610) on :
I have been reading his book on writing. He gives a good explination for it. I am not a big Steven King fan, but I have to say this book has been interesting.
LDS
Posted by Nick Vend (Member # 1816) on :
There's nothing wrong with incorporating real experiences - truth stranger than fiction etc etc. Just as long as it doesn't start becoming confessional, that's where the story can get really BORING!
Posted by rjzeller (Member # 1906) on :
I incorporate real expereinces...I think most of us do that even without thinking about it. The big difference between a story that borrows from real experiences and a biography or 'historical account' is that the former is typically dramatized and by the time the story is finished, there is more fiction than fact.
But you do need to be careful. I had written a short story once about an experience I had recently. The situation was deeply emotional--but only for me. When I re-read it, it turned out to be dull and uninteresting on paper. So I changed some details, made the characters more vivid, and basically spiced it up a lot and really dramatized it. The result was a much more vibrant story with great conflict and emotion.
Then I let my wife read it.
She became upset because she knew what the story was prompted by, and suddenly seeing characters treated that way really set her off. "Oh, so THAT's now you feel about that..." Er...NO. But the main character of the story does.... I had to make her read the original draft to understand why I did what I did to it.
So basically, just be careful. We all use life experiences, it's part of what makes a story uniquely ours. But be careful how closely you match it to real events and people, because you can offend folks without ever meaning to. (In fact, I think OSC has a similar warning in one of his writing books).
my 2 pennies (which is about all I've ever earned from MY writing skills to date).
Posted by Pyre Dynasty (Member # 1947) on :
THanks, Good to know I'm not crazy. Either that or we'll all crazy. I guess you have to be to write.
I usually read what I wrote then delete it. Sometimes it destroys the whole story. The other day I killed two chars that in my head had the image my brother and sister. I hope that didn't show through the writing or they'll be mad.
Posted by FiveSides (Member # 1988) on :
Just a side note. Poe wrote about his sorrows when his wife Elleanor died. His gloomy life was reflected in his writting. Also, Hemmingway often had characters who died from suicide or had a abnormal death. He commited suicide, so did his father. His life came up in his writings but not to great extent. It was more like a style.
