Write Your Own Feelings

There is a vast array of emotions in all of us. Write from those feelings and the experiences that creates them.

Maybe once I've written many books, the creation of a character will become something easier, perhaps even less personal (though I hope it doesn't as that is part of the appeal of writing).

But at the moment, my characters are different cross sections of my own personality, a conglomeration of my experiences, my memories, my issues, my strengths.

If my character is angry (even though I am not an angry person) I can easily draw on times in my life that I've felt dangerously angry, out of control.

It's the act of laying bare these experiences that make writing worthwhile. It's a way to make sense of them, categorize them, connect yourself to others.

Put yourself into your books and they can't help but be real.