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This week: Life Experiences Become Stories Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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For Authors Newsletter by Dawn
A question of whether to use daily experiences in order to come up with stories. Many stories are made up from nothing or from random sparks of inspiration that spiral beyond the starting point. Others come from details situations and experiences we face in our lives. |
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Inspiration can strike anywhere.
When it comes to our writing, any kind really, we can find ideas and such from any place we look and we don't even have to be looking. It can be from another story we're watching at the movie theaters, a book read on the treadmill that solves how to end a story or even in grief an idea can be spark at the train station on the concept of time and relativity. The options are endless.
But how often do we use that inspiration? Or how much of it do we use?
After a recent incident, someone I was talking to made a passing mention how I could use the situation for a story. And it made me wonder. How often do you use something that happens to you directly into a story?
For me, it's not that often. Things can inspire, spark ideas but there isn't a direct input from incident to fiction. Maybe it's because I do more speculative work that I don't see as much of a use in incidents from my rather normal life. Sure, I get many ideas. Reading a book on the 1920's during cardio helped me come up with the resolution for a story that I want to eventually finish writing. However, that solution doesn't involve reading a book or working out on a machine. It was just a good place where the aha moment occurred.
Yet, I can see how using real life incidents comes in handy. Poetry is a good example because many people draw inspiration from their lives and emotions in order to create prose. In fact, readers will often interpret a poem as having basis from reality because of the general perception they might have when it comes to that form of writing.
Then, of course, there are nonfiction books and creative nonfiction, both of which draw their entire stories from reality. Fiction can use incidents, happy events and tragedies from our daily lives as well. It just depends on what you want to do as a writer. I don't think I'll have any stuff get stolen in a story that I write this month but suppose it's an option. So many factors come to play in our experiences that there is always the opportunity to draw from them in order to create something else, whether we know we are doing it or not.
What happened to you this last week? Can it be a story? Write and we'll find out.
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Do you use any of your life experiences in order to create stories or any other form of writing?
Last time, back in December, I edited the For Authors newsletter and discussed making the decision to edit and/or rewrite. I questioned the process one might have for preparing to edit or rewrite. Here are comments sent in over the topic along with talk of world building:
Comment by Osirantinsel 
My worldbuilding always comes last in terms of writing, re-writing, editing. If I worldbuild (for me, that's mostly research) first, then I get so focused on that that I sort of forget to write. I'm intruigued about your saving a new 'draft' in Scrivener to work on your edits. I have thought about this recently for my main novel, now that I'm getting into the 'real' editing mode (the serious mode which = cut thousands of words). But... I know that any editing I do actually do will improve the novel so I think 'heh, why keep the old copy? If I'm rewriting stuff, it clearly needed to be done.' However, I still have this 'my novel' vs 'reader's novel' thing going on, so I think I will do as you're doing - saving a copy for the serious edit, keep the ridiculously long one just for me. (Alright, just in case I need some words back). I'm going to Chicago in April/May to do research - that's about a month before I aim to publish. Possibly a bit last minute but I'm really there just to check facts and to indulge my love for the city (yes, and to get away from work for a month). Perhaps that order is a bit wrong but it's how I go. I'd rather sort out the world after I sort out the story.
Comment by Zen 
I do my world-building before I have created my characters (I believe people are products of the world they inhabit). Without characters, I have no story, and without world-building I have no plot (which is devised after deciding the main character's story). I cannot imagine world-building after writing the novel.
Comment by Quick-Quill 
Im right there with you. I took back my published novel from the Publisher last Jan. I struggled with it all year since I didn't GET the published document. They wouldn't give it to me. I had to find the last version I sent and compare it to the book. I gave up trying to look at a page and match it to the page in a book. Someone suggested I get a program that will read the MS and I just follow along in the book making notes where I need to edit that page or line. I spent a few hours listening to the book read to me. I may make a few changes in the newer edition but I think it may be ready for publishing this spring. I bought the original cover so it will be good! Thanks for the encouraging NL.
Comment by dragonwoman 
Since I save all my writing as a single space document, when I got to rewrite or edit, I change the line spacing to double space and save.Then, being slightly old school, I print it out and edit/rewite by hand(gasp!!) After I'm done,(but is one ever done?) I go back, make the changes, then change the spacing back to single and either reduce or enlarge the word count and change the date that I always put at the bottom.
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For Authors: March 21, 2018 Issue [#8810]
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