Writing and Personal Experiences.

Currently Listening to NalinA by Block B.
Currently Reading: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch.

I wanted to write a post on where writing comes from. The ideas writers generate; the characters they create, feelings they go through; the stories themselves. It's a question I'm asked a lot by my mum: "But where did you get your entire story idea from?" At first, I thought she was asking because I was telling her about my original manuscript, long in its own way, and it had stemmed from a one-sentence idea.

Then I considered that she could be asking because I write fantasy. I do not live in a world of palaces and magic and hunters, as my protagonist does. When I was younger, my sister told me that a person can only write from personal experience. At the time, I was reading the TWILIGHT series and got confused; I highly doubted Stephanie Meyer had met vampires and wolves. Ever since, her comment has stayed with me throughout any piece of writing and I think about it far too much.

Do I agree? Yes. Do I disagree? Yes. The main events of a book may not be based on reality, but the feelings and relationships may be. To give an existing example, Leigh Bardugo's SHADOW AND BONE: as much an amazing writer and woman she is, I'm pretty sure Leigh has never experienced light shooting out of her palms to manifest scientifically into something magical, as her protagonist does. (If you have, Leigh, please correct me and also, discuss because this would be very cool and envious if you had Alina's powers ;) )  But Alina falls in love; Alina makes friends and she feels. Whilst Leigh, as the writer, has never experienced the immense magical elements of the story, she has most certainly felt. In that sense, her story has been written on personal influence. And I feel strange using those examples, so I'm going to take it to my own story.

In my story, my protagonist has a brother; she has a best friend and she has a family she is still searching for. Terrin feels a lot and I'm using some of me for my story. When I say that, I mean that I'm using past sibling spats to gain more character development in the main sibling relationship. Similarly, the view point the sibling tales come from is the youngest and the character has an elder sister, as I do. So whilst I can't hunt, nor do I get a Royal summons from any kings or heirs, I feel, as I make my character feel. I watch people around me, talking, moving, and I use it all as inspiration. I dream and take colours and sensations from my dreams.

So, going back to my sister's comment, "People can only write from personal experience", I would argue that the basis of characters are written from personal influence, but the main story (especially in fantasy) may not be.

One thing I do love, including personal experience, though is when a writer's travels seeps into their writing. Laini Taylor seems to have travelled so much, and I adored how much culture she includes and details in her DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE trilogy. Again, personal experience, but again, I don't think she has encountered people like Akiva, one of her protagonists. In the barest sense of Akiva being human and able to feel, yes, but his magical elements, no. If she has, I am infinitely jealous and would greatly appreciate the directions on where to find such people.

But that's just fantasy books. They're meant to be fiction in the highest sense of the word. Contemporary books? Quite possibly another story. Seeing as this genre covers real-life events, no magical themes, I believe these type of books could be drug up entirely from personal influence. I am doing that myself, writing a contemporary book on things I've seen that have impacted me majorly. Most I'll write in this story will be based on real-life experiences, as opposed to fully relying on my imagination.

I think, given the right amount of creativity and imagination, no writer needs to know anything first-hand about what they write about. There's the internet, with accounts of things that they may need to know about to write their story. Of course, experience helps but I don't entirely think it's necessary.

So, generate any ideas you want, and don't feel like you have to be limited creatively just because you haven't known something. Imagine it, develop it, practice it in writing, or go out and find the knowledge first-hand to write, if it's what you want to do. Any idea is limitless taken in the right direction.