Ask the Author–How much of yourself do you put in your writing?

Wow. It’s finally February! January was a month full of colds and coughing, so it actually felt really long this round. Here’s to hoping February is better. After all this time, this post doesn’t really need much explanation. The question for this month is…

How much of yourself do you put in your writing?

Honestly, probably a lot. I can find bits and pieces of me in some of my characters, especially Ashlynn. When writing in first person, it is a lot easier if I just let Ashlynn think the way I naturally think. Many of her interests are the same as mine. Once again, it was easier to write what I know. There are, however, some distinct differences between us. She’s a bit more impulsive than I am. She’s also a fair bit braver than I am. She’s better at seeing what needs to be done and doing it. Perhaps, unintentionally, I wrote Ashlynn to be a bit how I wish I could be.

Besides just characters, I know I’ve written things into the story that reflect myself and my thoughts. Especially in the first drafts I found myself using the story and my characters to explore ideas and dilemmas or other challenges going on in my life. I caught myself giving my characters similar things they had to deal with and watching to see what they did. It was actually really helpful sometimes. In later drafts, I usually cleaned those parts up a bit, or took them out entirely if they didn’t fit in right, but they really did help me get through some major transitional points in my life.

I’m not sure any writer an write a book without putting at least a bit of themselves into it. For better or worse, I have. Hopefully they are the best parts of me.

Do you put yourself into anything you do? How have you found it helpful?