Thursday, February 25, 2016

Are My Stories Autobiographical?

by Henry McLaughlin @RiverBendSagas

I’ve been asked this question on several occasions. For many authors, their stories, especially their first ones, are indeed autobiographical.

So I pondered this question and compared myself to the hero of my first novel, Michael Archer. Michael used to drink, so we have that in common.

But Michael lied, cheated, stole, assaulted and may have killed in his past. Some of that applied to me but not all of it.

I could see parts of me in Michael and in the other characters in the book. And my life experiences influenced the story. So did my research.

But in no way is Journey to Riverbend as the story of my life.

On the other hand, one of my other stories (unpublished so far), about a man who helps his son deal with the sudden disappearance of the son’s wife, is very personal. For the longest time I could not identify why.

The writing of the story flowed smoothly. Characters came to life and shared their stories. Settings had a realism that enhanced the characters and the plot. The twists and turns came at the right times and with the right tension and emotion. Several re-writes improved it immensely.

The problem came when I had to read it aloud at critique groups or when I read chunks of it to my self in the editing process. I couldn’t read without choking up and fighting tears. In groups, others would have to take over the reading.

I struggled and prayed, asking God why this story, of all my stories, affected me this intensely.

Finally, the answer came. The reason this story slams me the way it does, and the reason I had to write it, is I had never finished the grieving process over the loss of our son over twenty years ago. I thought I had. But this story digs deeper into my heart than any other and shows the wounds and hurts I’d never dealt with.

This story completed God’s healing process for me.

In this sense, it is the most autobiographical of my stories because it reveals more of me than any other.

How about you? How autobiographical are your stories?

Henry’s debut novel, Journey to Riverbend, won the 2009 Operation First Novel contest. 

He serves as Associate Director of North Texas Christian Writers. 


Henry edits novels, leads critique groups, and teaches at conferences and workshops. He enjoys mentoring and coaching individual writers. 


Connect with Henry on his blogTwitter and Facebook.

15 comments:

  1. Henry, I am so sorry for your loss. My blog is autobiographical. It has been a source of healing for me. My first fiction book idea is based on someone close to me. The brainstorming process for the book as enabled me to understand this person. To write is to heal. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thank you, Cherrilynn. I think our writing grows stronger and more real emotionally when we allow real life experiences into it.

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  2. All of them seem to have an aspect of my dealing with an issue. Writing is therapeutic...

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    1. I agree, Jennifer. Even when I'm off in my fantasy and scifi worlds, the writing is doing an internal work in me.

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  3. All of them seem to have an aspect of my dealing with an issue. Writing is therapeutic...

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  4. Henry, I'm so sorry for the pain of loss that you felt. God is the only true healer. Most of the examples I use in my Bible study are autobiographical. Several times God revealed to me that I hadn't truly dealt with pain in my past and I had to draw aside from my writing and allow Him to heal me. It was a precious time and my writing was so much richer because of my time with Him.

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    1. Thank you for sharing, Sherry. I think it's amazing how God is always seeking ways to help us heal, and to grow closer to him.

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  5. Henry, thank you for your transparency. Yes, all my kids' books have some scenes/plots that come straight out of my family and me. That process went well and brought me much joy.

    But now that I'm working on my first women's fiction, I find myself struggling with scenes, emotions, disappointments all over again. It's hard, but I know that in the end, I'll find new level of peace and acceptance after facing the difficult memories and dealing with the pain.

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    1. Thank you, Vonda. As Jennifer said in her comment above, writing is therapeutic many times.
      I appreciate your courage in letting those emotions and disappointments come through in your writing. It will make your story richer and touch readers lives. Blessings.

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  6. Henry, thank you for sharing your heart. I believe every story has a bit of the writer - and some more so than others.

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  7. Thank you, DiAnn. Especially for helping me get to the point where I could share my heart.

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  8. I'm sorry for your loss.

    Your article got me to thinking. My first book series, Adi's World, has five primary characters. Three of them are based on my sons & friend, however, as the story line progressed, they developed into their own personalities.

    Now the other two started as separate characters (I thought), but then became more and more of me. It was my former students who pointed out the autobiographical elements to me as I was sharing the books with them.

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  9. Thanks for sharing, Jo-Marie. I've had similar experiences in me writing. And it's always funny when someone else spots it.

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  10. This is really powerful, Henry. I have no words . . .

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