Hello Writers! Time for another IWSG monthly post.
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
The awesome co-hosts for the October 4 posting of the IWSG are Olga Godim, Chemist Ken, Jennifer Hawes, and Tamara Narayan!
October 4 question - Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?
I have, both accidentally and on purpose, though I think the accidentally is getting less and less the more I write. When I first shared some of my writing with family members and friends, they'd laugh and list off all the ways the character(s) and settings were "totally" me or my family or the town we live in or near. And since it stuck out at them and made them laugh (Nothing they laughed about was intended to be comical.), I learned to watch my writerly self and cut that out real quick.
And... I'll tell you some examples of ways my personal information has slipped into my novels later today... Sorry, I didn't leave enough time to write this morning.
To be continued....
Okay... lunch break. :)
some personal tid bits that have sneaked their ways into my stories over the years:
my main characters are always a little anti-social and goal-driven, which makes them unlikable... that's a little bit me as I'm an introvert and can close up pretty tightly. it takes a lot to get me to leave my house sometimes! i need to venture out as a writer in the personality department!
my main characters are usually runners (like me!)
sometimes characters say something that friends and family think are "so me" and my phrases (gah!)
my novels usually have a small amount of faith-based issues in them (my faith is important to me) in my current series, my dad spotted some scenarios from my real-life childhood (he read the bible to me growing up, he left notes for me before going to work, etc)
my very first novel was set in a house that i'd visited during a local parade of homes (i'd wanted that house!)
i may or may not have modeled a main character's love interest on an ex-boyfriend...
i named a character's mom after a favorite soap opera character from my childhood
i modeled a bowling alley after a real life bowling alley in my town
i've started using friend's/family member's names in my novels for their amusement and enjoyment :)
current readers of my books have found these similarities in setting:
shady creek, wi (fiction) is similar to black creek, wi (a real life nearby town that really was not on my mind when i created the fictional town)
a character is taken to st. elizabeth hospital (a real life hospital in our city)
i'm sure there are more, but i'm out of ideas at this moment!
back to work!
Okay... lunch break. :)
some personal tid bits that have sneaked their ways into my stories over the years:
my main characters are always a little anti-social and goal-driven, which makes them unlikable... that's a little bit me as I'm an introvert and can close up pretty tightly. it takes a lot to get me to leave my house sometimes! i need to venture out as a writer in the personality department!
my main characters are usually runners (like me!)
sometimes characters say something that friends and family think are "so me" and my phrases (gah!)
my novels usually have a small amount of faith-based issues in them (my faith is important to me) in my current series, my dad spotted some scenarios from my real-life childhood (he read the bible to me growing up, he left notes for me before going to work, etc)
my very first novel was set in a house that i'd visited during a local parade of homes (i'd wanted that house!)
i may or may not have modeled a main character's love interest on an ex-boyfriend...
i named a character's mom after a favorite soap opera character from my childhood
i modeled a bowling alley after a real life bowling alley in my town
i've started using friend's/family member's names in my novels for their amusement and enjoyment :)
current readers of my books have found these similarities in setting:
shady creek, wi (fiction) is similar to black creek, wi (a real life nearby town that really was not on my mind when i created the fictional town)
a character is taken to st. elizabeth hospital (a real life hospital in our city)
i'm sure there are more, but i'm out of ideas at this moment!
back to work!
On a side note... I also really miss Erica, and I don't think she's ever coming back to me. But she was the funny one of us. (She's fine and well and doing amazing things. She just doesn't blog anymore and we don't chat as much as we used to... which used to be multiple times, daily.) Man, those good ol' days of blogging back in 2010-11. We had some fun times!
What happened to Erica?
ReplyDeleteAt least you made your family members laugh.
It's a good point. The more we write, the more comfortable we are stepping outside of what we really know, so our characters are freer to be less like us.
ReplyDeleteSounds sad about Erica.
ReplyDeleteSorry about Erica. Casey doesn't blog anymore and just took her picture off the blog. It feels weird. You are the second person who has said friends like being put in stories. I may have to ask mine.
ReplyDelete