Drawn from life. - Writers Forum

MisterVanOsten · 04-13-2008, 01:59 AM

Hey all, just a quick question for those of you who have written stories about things in your own life.
Do you feel that it is easier to write about experiences in your own life or is it just as difficult as making them up? I was considering drawing a lot of my story ideas from things I have recently experienced (Unfortunately... Ugh.) and was curious as to whether or not it took as much work as inventing a completely fictional situation.

Thanks, Tom.

The Backward OX · 04-13-2008, 02:23 AM

That's an ambiguous question. It depends what you mean by “write about”.

If you want to write about your own life as it really happened:
a) it’s dead easy
b) no one will read it (unless you’re some world-famous identity, which I assume you’re not)

If on the other hand you want to create fiction based on your real-life experiences that people will want to read, it’s every bit as hard as making stuff up.

Or there is a third possibility. Lead a debauched life, write about that as it really happened, and people will read it. Nudge nudge.

Noirllyn · 04-13-2008, 09:44 AM

Writing something entirely real for me is difficult, usually because if I'm bringing my own experience to the table, I feel the need to explain the purpose a bit further. Plus, most of what I write about has to do with my early childhood, so it takes me a while to remember things in detail... and forever to remember things in order.

Simply meshing things that happen in real life into fictional stories? That's just as easy as making stuff up, usually. Of course, if you try to work it into a story it doesn't fit into, then it's a real pain in the bum, for obvious reasons.