tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post99090676895682809..comments2023-10-30T15:13:22.680+00:00Comments on Strictly Writing: Me Myself and IDThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-6673055239660112532009-03-02T12:59:00.000+00:002009-03-02T12:59:00.000+00:00I'm really looking forward to reading The Art of L...I'm really looking forward to reading The Art of Losing, Becky! Should be arriving any day now....Gillian McDadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02758782108258244355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-55393540484398425332009-03-01T14:19:00.000+00:002009-03-01T14:19:00.000+00:00Ouch, Rosy! - that's exactly what I'm worried abou...Ouch, Rosy! - that's exactly what I'm worried about - people taking the more disagreeable or negative characteristics of my characters and saying, "well, she's clearly you". Very annoying!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-65985110311702517852009-02-28T06:41:00.000+00:002009-02-28T06:41:00.000+00:00Oh, all so very true, Becky! What an interesting p...Oh, all so very true, Becky! What an interesting post.<BR/><BR/>When my brother read my first novel and I asked him what he thought, he said, 'Well, it's hard to be objective about it when it's clearly so autobiographical.' I was completely bemused - it's about an obsessive letter-writing nutter who ends up in bed with her Labour MP!<BR/><BR/>When my dad read a draft of my second book he mentioned the main female character - 'What's-her-name', he said, 'the one who's you.' Again, to me, any resemblance was very far-fetched. I find her unbearably downtrodden and martyred - not the way I se myself at all!<BR/><BR/>But of course, they are us. Main characters, minor characters, the wicked villainess - at some level, all us!<BR/><BR/>Rosy xAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-65180489215510238772009-02-27T15:15:00.000+00:002009-02-27T15:15:00.000+00:00That's very annoying, Caroline! How presumptuous o...That's very annoying, Caroline! How presumptuous of them...<BR/><BR/>Interesting about the ghost-writing angle - I suppose it's impossible to totally stop your own voice from slipping through, even in that context. <BR/><BR/>I like your analogy, Sam, although I don't quite understand the role of the tap in house-buying!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-29899464548483052932009-02-27T09:50:00.000+00:002009-02-27T09:50:00.000+00:00I think this is all fascinating because I once had...I think this is all fascinating because I once had a WF novel rejected on the basis that, 'it's so obviously autobiographical....you need to find a different story to tell.' I was flabbergasted because nothing in that story had ever happened to me, and the MC was completely different in every way. It would have been a funny twisted compliment, if it hadn;t been a rejection :-)Caroline Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04708248040141519582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-35935340833200952632009-02-27T09:08:00.000+00:002009-02-27T09:08:00.000+00:00My dad has just read my book and chuckled many a t...My dad has just read my book and chuckled many a time at the odd line that he thought was autobiographical and reminded him of something from my life. And sometimes he was right. But i don't think this matters, part of your life experience is bound to slip through and this is partly what makes all of our writing voices different.<BR/><BR/>I think the problem is if you base your plot and characters soley on a period from your life,which is the cliched thing for new writers to do and is what i did with my first novel, many moons ago.<BR/><BR/>I read an analogy once where it said writing is like buying an old house. Turn on the tap and let all the brown crap run out (ie this is you writing about your life) - once you've got this out of your system, the good stuff, the clear stuff, will start to flow out.<BR/><BR/>I think this is very true.<BR/><BR/>Great post.Administratorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13894920115299109640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-9750074983288130432009-02-27T03:12:00.000+00:002009-02-27T03:12:00.000+00:00i do love the idea of following a writer's themes ...i do love the idea of following a writer's themes as revisited through his work--that no matter how different the various plots, settings and characters, the underlying philosophies might give me honest insight into what's important to this person. almost like a serial killer's signature, isn't it? :)Laurie Paulsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00940911520479117472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-12142587209319493462009-02-26T22:12:00.000+00:002009-02-26T22:12:00.000+00:00Gosh, yes, I'm quite worried about this issue, as ...Gosh, yes, I'm quite worried about this issue, as very few friends and family have read the book yet and I wonder what they will think when it comes out. I don't think the historical setting will make a difference, unfortunately.<BR/><BR/>It's interesting to hear a ghostwriter's perspective, Helen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-33355728010315937282009-02-26T21:37:00.000+00:002009-02-26T21:37:00.000+00:00I have nearly finished ghostwriting a biography an...I have nearly finished ghostwriting a biography and absolutely petrifed that bits of me might show through. It's almost impossible to avoid I think, whatever the genre. Every now and again I hear my voice instead of my subject's and have to pull myself up sharp - although it helps that my name won't be on the cover of course!Helen Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10765832070235249081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-30967081031000879432009-02-26T19:33:00.000+00:002009-02-26T19:33:00.000+00:00This is so interesting - and yes, Susie, I think i...This is so interesting - and yes, Susie, I think it applies to historical fiction too, any fiction where you have characters interacting in relationships.<BR/><BR/>Just coming to the end of my second novel, I had a sudden realisation that certain themes have been repeated, that there is a defininite 'father' thing going on, issues that - in real life - I could never voice, let alone discuss very easily. I am finding this slightly disturbing to say the least... and I am not even published. <BR/><BR/>I think to be published, put out in the world, must be wonderful, but I also fear that it opens the author up, not just to unrestrained criticism, but also to a somewhat more intense and intimate gaze than we may ever have planned on.<BR/><BR/>SarahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-27649322182221067932009-02-26T18:45:00.000+00:002009-02-26T18:45:00.000+00:00Tricky, isn't it? I wonder if it makes a differen...Tricky, isn't it? I wonder if it makes a difference writing historical fiction, or science fiction or whatever, rather than contemporary - at least you can kind of hide behind the time factor? I know my first novel is hugely autobiographical - not in terms of the events, but in terms of the themes. And if it wasn't, I don't think I'd have cared enough about it. A friend said she was very taken aback when she came to the first swear-word, because 'you never swear'! <BR/>Great post, Becky!<BR/>SusiexSusie Nott-Bowerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08428000582406338267noreply@blogger.com