Sure, writing a story is about creating something chiefly for entertainment. You could also include a message or two. Add some personal episodes. Tell some idea you may have about something, relevant or not. A lot of stories (and novels!) are based to some degree on the author's own experiences. That's not a requirement; usually it's because the real event fits nicely into the story and it's often easier to borrow than to invent from whole cloth. I've certainly done that with my 20 novels.
I began with a cool idea. What if this happened? I wrote it out, exploring the idea, testing it. Not too interesting in itself, I soon learned. Have to add characters who are interesting; they can deal with the problem. Then the problem becomes interesting because readers see it through the eyes and mind of the character. Most of my books begin with an interesting premise but it is always explored through the main characters' experiences.
What about exploring yourself?
My first completed novel was back in 1981 (remains unpublished). I was not exploring my own issues in that. It took another novel (1983; published in 2020) for me to see something in it that reflected my own condition. In my youth, I often would explore a situation as if I were only an example, a test subject, even though - had I been pressed - I might have realized I was figuring out something about myself.
My first completed novel was back in 1981 (remains unpublished). I was not exploring my own issues in that. It took another novel (1983; published in 2020) for me to see something in it that reflected my own condition. In my youth, I often would explore a situation as if I were only an example, a test subject, even though - had I been pressed - I might have realized I was figuring out something about myself.
That side effort of writing a fictional piece became more apparent as I got to grad school and entered an MFA program I believed would help launch my career (it didn't although I did learn some valuable things). Since then, I've noticed how the things in my real life that nag me, that cause me grief, or puzzle me can be worked out through invented characters substituting for me. I can have characters do what I would never dare do, say, or even think, in my real life.
A few examples.
In my FLU SEASON series, which began with what I believed would be a one-off stand-alone novel about a single mother and her teen son surviving a worse pandemic/lockdown than what most of us experienced in real life, I found a lot of connections to exploit.
The first book, THE BOOK OF MOM (November 2022), is narrated by the teen son who "suffers" from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. I chose to have the character that way because I was, at the time, becoming informed about it. Random sources sparked something in me that made me wonder, through the long line of experiences in my life, if I might not also have that syndrome undiagnosed. Turns out many adults find out later in life that they have actually been living (sometimes unsuccessfully) through the unusual aspects of the syndrome. I hadn't been diagnosed at the time I started writing; I merely thought it would make an interesting character - and it did.
And speaking of Father's Day (which it is as I post this), we have THE BOOK OF DAD (June 2024) which was written as a sequel to the original trilogy. I had more ideas so I wrote another book. In it, I saw a twist on Orwell's "1984" but only inasmuch as the new capital was a repressive place where thought and history were strictly controlled. I let fly all my paranoia and neuroticism in the character of Frank (Isla's last child). I explored my own beliefs about the role of a man in society, as a provider, as a protector, and how society (government) sought to replace those roles, leaving a man with nothing to stand for, nothing to do but manual labor. He rages at his society - as we rage against ours today. But it was therapeutic for me, letting it out of my system, so to speak.
As the series continued through the family lineage, that body of traits is passed along to a greater or lesser degree, right up to Book 6: THE GRANDSONS (coming July 1, 2025). We don't know if the syndrome affects the main character there, if he suspects it or even knows about the possibility. If you know from reading the other books in the series, seeing it unfold in other characters, or you know from your own research, then you may well see it in his actions, but it is not specifically suggested. They say to write what you know, but sometimes you write what you know without knowing you know it. You know?
So I cheat. But at least it's my own life I draw from. There's a lot to draw from, although it's never been my intention to simply write a memoir. I did try that a couple of times. It got boring fast. My advice for new writers, however, would be to try to write your own life. See what is true and see what isn't but may sound true enough to be included. Then you can fictionalize it. A good exercise.
So I cheat. But at least it's my own life I draw from. There's a lot to draw from, although it's never been my intention to simply write a memoir. I did try that a couple of times. It got boring fast. My advice for new writers, however, would be to try to write your own life. See what is true and see what isn't but may sound true enough to be included. Then you can fictionalize it. A good exercise.
Now, with the FLU SEASON Saga coming to an end (or so they say), I can look back on multiple generations across the six books and see quite clearly the themes, the tropes, the messages I wanted to offer. I think of some words: redemption (in nearly every book I've written), reconciliation (making things right again, especially with other family members), and always: continuity. Maybe too often in these six books a character will remark on those who came before and those who will follow after, and feel a sense of relief at that. Maybe the character thinking it simply feels relief that he/she doesn't need to keep carrying on, that the next generation will take over, will carry the family forward another few decades then pass it off to yet another new generation.
How to make sense of it all? An old MFA professor once told us: "If you want to send a message, put it in a letter, not a story." And yet, where better than a story to offer something valuable? The trick is to let it slip in like a letter under the door, unobtrusive, almost an afterthought yet full of wisdom of a sort when it finally becomes clear to us.
THE GRANDSONS launches July 1, 2025. I'll be blogging on it between now and then.
(C) Copyright 2010-2025 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog.
Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.
A wonderful post, Professor. I especially relate to your final lines, "And yet, where better than a story to offer something valuable?" This is why we read, and why we are moved by the works of the masters.
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