How to Use Life Experiences for Fiction Writing

As fiction writers, we’re always looking for ideas. Some of the best ones are right in front of our noses. The very details that bring a story alive can be found in our own lives, if only we keep a keen eye out for them. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Alertness
• Note-taking materials

1. Listen to your thoughts. As you go about your day, many different stimuli will trigger thoughts, ideas, judgments and feelings about the world and people around you. If you happen to have a thought that seems particularly fruitful to you, consider using it as a theme to drive a story or allow your thought to become a character’s thought.

2. Be observant. Watch how people interact with each other. Notice how an old woman walks or what kinds of things distract a child or how teenagers mock each other on the subway. Becoming a student of human behavior will allow you to draw rich, interesting and believable characters.

3. Note extraordinary experiences. Those experiences that get your blood pumping, whether in anger or fear or lust or whether they’re just quirky and strange can be translated into interesting plot points in your stories.

4. Develop an ear for dialogue. Writing good dialogue that not only captures the different voices of your different speakers but that also increases the tension in the story can be difficult to master. Become an eavesdropper and listen to how different people talk to each other in different situations. Be especially on the look-out for moments of unspoken implication.

5. Look for metaphors. As you observe the physical world around you, think of unique ways of describing those things that have been described a million times before. Consider how comparing something to something else may have implications for theme and meaning and use that to your advantage.