Does anyone else write from experiences?

Meehan_Connor · Post by **Meehan_Connor** » 29 Dec 2014, 12:30

Often I find that the easiest stories to write are those where characters are inspired by actual events/friends/enemies of myself, and the richest plots come from my own personal experiences. Does anyone else find that too?

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 29 Dec 2014, 14:42

I've often used personal experiences as a partial story line for my novels -- having the characters do something similar to that which I'd done myself. But only as a template, not as some example. For example, the beginning of a chapter from my new private eye mystery novel is whimsical -- an excerpt taken from my personal experiences at an actual tavern that actually had "golf" tournaments inside the tavern:

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Tony Vee and I were playing in a golf tourney at The Ship. Which was ironic because I’ve never actually played a round of golf in my life. Not that it matters, as we weren’t playing golf as much as we were bashing a golfball at random around the inside of a bunch of interconnected wooden buildings.

The Ship is a bar, sort of, keeping irregular hours and even more irregular clientele. The beer is cold and cheap and patrons are a fun mix of Houston oddballs—musicians, painters, newspaper reporters, attorneys, an occasional cop and even some private detective scum. The Ship is also a real life boat storage and repair shop that performs excellent work. The fact that the place is miles from navigable water seems of little concern. Owners trailer their precious cargoes for miles up the freeway just to let the shipwrights perform their magic.

The property is cobbled together from several old frame storehouses and such, indiscriminate size and purpose, connected via hallways and open gardens, a business that seems to have grown much of its own accord. The owner, Dalton Envers, is an old time jazz pianist whose family left him a lucrative boating facility. Dalton retains a small staff of loyal workers and the place’s boat repair reputation prevails.

Dalton also hosts jazz concerts and opened a bar in the front building mainly to support the music. He tolerates rock groups too, their louder music subjugated to another building to the rear of the property, but hardcore jazz musicians and buffs from all over the Southwest come to The Ship for sessions. And occasionally, to partake in impromptu and insane indoor golf tournaments that the place hosts. Nobody knows why.

How the tournament works is that you each toss a ten, maybe a twenty into the kitty and pick a club from a basket of old nine-irons. Play starts alongside the main bar, golfers teeing off from one of those rubber putting practice things, hopefully driving the ball out the back door into a small courtyard, then into the larger concert area, across to the warehouse, which marks the course turn and where everyone stops for a fresh beer. Next, down a hallway through the stoner room where jazz musicians gather to jam, play poker, and where late night smoke is green and intense, out to the courtyard again, finishing back at the bar with a putt into the cup.

Par for the one-hole course is twelve. Or ten maybe. Nobody knows that either. Nor cares. Windows are sometimes broken but there’s a fund. Players also get hit a lot but no compensation is provided for that misfortune. The winner keeps half the pot (the money, not the weed), buys the losers a round, and the rest goes into the waitress tip jar. It makes little sense but the real game of golf doesn’t make sense either and that hasn’t prevented vast sums from being spent on it annually.

hareid03 · Post by **hareid03** » 29 Dec 2014, 15:15

I like to write about people. Sometimes my friends, sometimes people I know from school, and other times just random people I've met. I like to make up a life for them and write about experiences they could have had. Sometimes I write about real experiences I know people have had as well. I feel like my best writing is usually when I'm writing from my experiences or basing it off of people I know and then manipulating the story into something different. It's also rather entertaining.

Booknet15 · Post by **Booknet15** » 30 Dec 2014, 01:29

I think we can never get away from having something of our experiences enter into our writing. It could be something very obvious like talking about visiting a particular place and you recount the sights, sounds and smells of the area. Or our experience could seep through in terms of our perspectives and experiences ... For example a young writer's experience of heartache may be different from a mature person's point of view. The interesting thing is that while many of our experiences are unique, the lessons we learn can resonate with so many other people.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 31 Dec 2014, 07:36

I find that's the best way to write, at least for me. At least, start with something or include something that you know from experience.

As my personal example:
My mother died when I was a university student, and her death affected me very much at that time. I wrote as a way of dealing with it. As a result, every story I write, always has a character whose mother has already passed away. Usually the main character. Just because I personally know what it is like to be in those kinds of shoes.

rolandogomez · Post by **rolandogomez** » 31 Dec 2014, 09:13

There is an old saying, made famous in the romantic comedy movie (1985) "The Sure Thing," starring John Cusack. The English professor, Ms. Taub, tells Mr. Cusack who plays Walter Gibson, "Life is the ultimate experience, and you have to live it to write about it."

I'm a firm believer in that, and in fact, I think it allows an author's passion to show and flow! The same is said about songwriters and musicians, in my opinion. I'm a also a firm believer in the greatest storytellers are those that tell their most interesting life events.

Just my two centavos worth. Happy New Year everyone!