"Did you write about me in your book?" by Victoria James

I know that's a question that any writer has heard at least once.  Before I pursued publication, I used to semi-seriously tell one of my girlfriends that I'd love to cast her as a heroine in one of my books because her profession was so exciting.  And then when I told her I was published she of course squealed with delight, along with my other friends that night...and then slowly her smile faded, a frown formed and her head tilted to the side as she looked at me:  "You didn't really write about me did you?"  Of course I didn't...

But sometimes, a little bit of reality does get thrown into my books.  And I'm wondering how alone I am in this.  I mean, all the events that have occurred in our lives have shaped us, have been absorbed by us.  The memories and experiences remain-sometimes buried, but they're still there.  I think the best tweet I read this year was from author Anne Lamot..."You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better."

That floored me.  First it made me laugh and think of all the miserable people I've encountered through the years, and how that would be such a great rebuttal if I ever did write them into a book, and they questioned me about it.  And while I have never written someone's actual history, I would say that subconsciously, certain people may have helped shaped some characters in my books.  Perhaps even one or two of the more hilarious and absurd things that have happened to my heroines may have happened to me-I will neither confirm nor deny if questioned :-)

There are also certain topics I know that are just too close to home, to personal, to painful to write about.  This summer we're dealing with my father's prostate cancer and doing daily trips to the cancer center.  Thankfully my father should be fine.  But the impact that area of the hospital has had on me-the other patients, the doctors, the support staff has been profound.  It's too close to home and the emotions are too raw to put on paper-now.  Maybe a few years I'll be able to revisit this summer in my mind and bring to life some of the spectacular, courageous people I've met.  For now, it's something I'd just like to shut the door on.

I think some of the best fiction I've read has had true to life characters and real emotion.  And I don't think you can have either of those if you haven't brought in a touch of reality into your book...

What about you?  Have you ever loosely based a character on someone you know?  Have you ever included an embarrassing moment into your book?  Do you think that our experiences have a great impact on our writing?