Writing from Experience

Is it possible to write too close to home? I’m sure we’ve all been told at some point to ‘write what you know’ but is this reductive? I personally tend to find it a bit jarring when an author puts themselves into their writing too obviously.  I do think there is a danger of it reading self indulgent. However, there are obvious benefits of writing from experience too. It can allow personal, untold stories to be told. I asked over on Instagram (@novel_natter) what others thought about this. 75% of you said you can tell when an author is writing about themselves and 88% said they enjoy this. 

My theme for this week’s blog first popped into my head after I had finished Shuggie Bain and read an interview with Douglas Stuart. I had definitely picked up from the book that it must have been based on some real world experience but after reading the interview it became clear that quite a lot of the novel was tied to Stuart’s own life. I think this is a case of writing from personal experience that works really well. Without that lived experience could the same emotion be poured into writing? Is it possible to fake those feelings that are so instrumental to writers like Stuart. I like to think that you don't have to literally experience everything your characters do. If this was true a lot of books would be really boring. Yet, with Stuart's writing it's the realism that rings out. Would someone without his experiences be able to write his novel to the same standard? I’m not too sure. I mentioned in my review of the book (https://www.novelnatter.co.uk/post/shuggie-bain-review) that Staurt can write about the small moments of life beautifully; I wondered if these were inspired from his real life too or if he had just reached for those big moments.

I had recently attended an event for Emma Jane Unsworth’s new book ‘Slags’ and she spoke about writing from personal experience. She said that those small moments, inside jokes between siblings and little character quirks and taken from real life in her writing. Those big, heavy emotional plot points however are rooted in fiction. As I was reading ‘Slags’ this was something I picked up on. I really liked this approach. I think it allows personal experience to build some realism on the page. I much prefer this to when it feels like an author has left their bleeding heart in their writing.

This led me to think about my own writing. I realised I was never writing about myself, at least I wasn’t aware I was. When planning I never think to write about my life or people I know. In fact, I think I almost avoid it. However, I have had someone read my work and ask if a character was inspired by someone in my life. I read my own work again and they were right. Real life had snuck into my writing. I hadn’t even realised myself putting the real world on the page. Perhaps this is almost inevitable. Our experiences are always going to bleed into fiction whether we try to put them there or not.