I know and I’ve read stories where an author basically writes their story about themselves. What I mean is that they are basically main character in their story, but they don’t necessarily name the main character their name; it can be a made up name. Anyways. some authors do this when they want to share their story or personal experiences that they’ve encountered during their life. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it because some readers like reading stories when it is centered around the author. But, I do have questions of course.
Do you think an author’s story about their life experience or experiences be the core of their story?( Basically, do you think their story should just be about their experiences). And, if they don’t write a story about their life experiences, should they still make up a “fake” story so that their experiences are incorporated into the story? When it gets to the point where an author shares everything about their experiences, it shouldn’t be written about because it’s personal. I don’t know, but what do you guys think?
I dont really like. mostly because the ones who do it always say. this is my story about my life so you wont get any choices. and there i am like. i came here to make choices
also most of them actually dont has as interesting a life as they think
I do think that is true in some cases. I wouldn’t say that their life may not be as interesting as others, but some of their life experiences shouldn’t be written about in general if they want to brag about it
i like when people share their experiences and what they learned through storytelling, some of the best and most realistic portrayals of that experience comes from people who lived it so they know whats up. i dont mind when authors weave real life experiences into their story through their characters and have a character that looks similar to themselves, especially if theyre gonna make a lesson out of the experiences so their readers can learn from it.
however, if its self-centered and they do an “all about me” type story as you mentioned where its like ‘sorry its all about me theres no choices’ then its like damn okay if youre gonna have that approach i wont read your story. your story’s aim shouldnt be about yourself, it should be about telling a story worth peoples while and maybe life lessons.
I also agree that choices should be incorporated within their story instead of having no choices. What if an author doesn’t want their reader to go through what really happened in their life truthfully? They can incorporate choices so that their reader doesn’t have to go through that same event that took place in that author’s life. It could be similar to it, but it doesn’t have to be the exact same thing. (I hope I explained this clearly).
I have a couple WIPs loosely based on my personal experiences, which are the core of my story.
I am, however, making significant changes to the details (no self-inserts, maybe adding a few characters to enhance the storyline) and I would like to branching based on what I think would have happened if I ended up doing something differently.
I don’t mind when authors do this at all. In fact, one of my favorite stories does this and was featured during Women’s History Month. I think if a story is told well, it can be pulled off.
I can see how it might be annoying where these authors don’t really provide choices, but the way I see it, there are stories that aren’t based on true stories that do this too. I’ve noticed authors that write in the romance genre do this. Even if you end up with a different love interest, the result is almost exactly the same. The only difference is a mild change in the dialogue.
I like it a lot, once it’s interesting and realistic. Sometimes the author may not be the MC, but they do base scenarios on experience they’ve had themselves. That may make writing easier for them since they have experienced the emotions, the reactions and the outcomes of it first hand.
Yes, because writing about what is familiar to you helps make the story more realistic. I completely agree about the choices… maybe you don’t have to incorporate choices that change the whole course of the plot, but at least give the reader choices on how to respond to someone, asking the right question in order to learn something about them, if they want to go to a specific place or not, etc.
My story, Diary of a Middle School Teacher, is based on my own experiences, but half of it is still fictional.
Yeah, most of my stories are comedies cause my life is a joke. Now let’s be serious to not get flagged, I think my characters and their experiences aren’t me: they are parts of me that are developed further in other directions with a different set of traits surrounding that part. For example, I’m pretty insecure about my ability to accomplish things; it’s a flaw but it isn’t my main flaw. However, it just happens to be my MC Jax’s main flaw in From Zero to Hero and it is surrounded by his wit, bit of good heart, and bit of hatred toward Mediocreopolis. The things he has experienced after the accident are driven by his personality that I gave him based on a piece of myself and how I wrote him(ish). I think if people want to share what they went through, let them. If they want to tell the story of how they got pregnant by the gang leader’s vampire son, let them do that too.
To me it just depends on how forthcoming the author is in volunteering information saying “This is a story about my life” in the narration. I think every author puts some degree of personal experience in their story.
I think it gets out of hand if the author is lying saying a tragic story point actually happened to them.
Everyone has a preference. Some people enjoy writing and/or reading autobiography stories (or based on real events stories)… some don’t. Sure, it’s not a “popular” genre, but the genre has it’s own title for a reason.
Hypothetically speaking, if you were to write a story based on an experience you went through or encountered, how would you write it? Would you add some fiction into it?
I am not gonna lie, but sometimes I do enjoy reading stories by authors that is based on their life experience or experiences. Everybody has their own personal story, so it is interesting to know what particular event happened in someone’s life (that’s just my opinion).
