Is your novel inspired by personal experiences? http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131 TheBookB I think much of my plots (in various novels) are derived from my own personal experiences, or feelings. I story isn't scene for scene, but more of an idea that I run with. Sometimes I think my novels are a journal of what I wish had really happened. Does anybody else find their inspiration from personal experiences? Sat, 15 Oct 2011 16:04:34 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_73105 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_73105 jefflion Ugh. This is a tricky question. Writing is escapism for me, and I'm not particularly inspired to write about what's going on in my life. But then again, there's always some sort of autobiographical element to my writing. For example, suicide tends to appear in my stories (not much as an event but its aftermath and the way families cope with it). The way family is affected by it. Last year, one of my character's had a father who committed suicide. This year, it my MC's brother (whom she never met, because he died before she was born). When something like this happens when you're a kid, it affects you to the point of becoming a "normal" part of your life and you don't really know what is like to be any different. I guess it's the theme I explore. Also, characters with Asperger's seem to appear in my writing. This year will be my first attempt at this (my male MC has Asperger's), but I have many story ideas with characters who have this condition. On a less serious note, my experience with directing school plays sure influenced my plot. Actually, it all started as a mind game. I don't direct plays anymore, but sometimes I think about novels that I like and I think about the ways they can be adapted for stage. So I was thinking about the Virgin Suicides. It's such a good book, with unique, amazing narration, and I was thinking what it would be like to make it into a play (how to handle the narration? ) So I made my MC adapt the novel for stage and actually make it into a play. (Now, for the record, I still think it's almost impossible to adapt this novel for stage, or film, but I can always make my characters try to make it into a decent play). Sat, 15 Oct 2011 16:34:17 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_73446 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_73446 andifadoubledeckerbus this year's novel isn't based on experiences, but the narrator's personality and outlook on life is very much based on my own (despite it being unintentional). in fact, i guess i could say that all four main characters represent a part of my personality: one is my idealistic/optimistic side, one's my aggressive side, one's my confused/lost side and one is my depressive/deluded side. note how all of this was unintentional. Sat, 15 Oct 2011 16:41:16 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_73532 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_73532 brianarants Not necessarily my own personal experiences, but inspired by others' personal experiences. My nano last year had to deal with a girl whose father committed suicide and that did actually happen around where I live. The family went to my church and everything. It was such a sad event, especially for her since she was fairly close to her father and felt that the whole thing could have been avoided, turning back to those "what if's". The church youth group (when I was a part of it) went on a trip to a conference and she happened to be in my group where we discuss our feelings and such (it sounds sappy, I know). She began explaining how she hasn't been the same since her dad's death and right there I knew that was a story that shouldn't be forgotten. As for this year, also another experience I swiped. My friend's brother's girlfriend has strained their relationship where she became obsessed with him and his whereabouts (she goes to a college in NY and he goes to a college in FL) and demanded to talk to him 24/7 (you know, facebook, skype, twitter, etc...) Him, he started feeling smothered and had to break off the relationship. Yet, she still calls him and even calls his mom. She uses tricks to get him to listen to her and talk to her. All the while, he's just trying to move on. Yes, I steal real life experiences. For shame! :/ Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:23:34 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_74015 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_74015 marianthelibrarian I agree with andifadoubledeckerbus. My five main girl characters represent different parts of who I am as well. Sometimes I realize I'm writing characters that are like my friends too. Sometimes I "steal" real life experiences, but alter them so they fit the plot of my story. This year one of my characters is in a situation that I'm dealing with right now. Maybe writing about it will help me out :) Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:03:51 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_74556 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_74556 WrittenWord Yes and no. I was ten years old (turned eleven in the middle of it) during the 2000 Presidential election, and I sort of followed it for the first time, but I had a friend who worked for the local campaign office. And I was a month off of my twelfth birthday on 9/11. It changed my life...a lot. And I had a friend whose father worked at the Pentagon. So when I started plotting my novel for this year, I thought about that and decided to use both events, from the point of view of someone more interested in politics and slightly older than I was (he's 14 in 2000). But...I wasn't as close to it as Jackson is. Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:37:09 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_74928 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_74928 marija daniilova Sort of. I've somehow become a loner, and my main characters have somehow become on the outside. (One orphaned and the queen b--- at her schol, well, she lives up to the title imo, the other moves to another country, and her parents were immigrants to her homeland to begin with). I also came up with a children's story about a boy whose big sis has a health scare (a la my niece's anemia and her brothe during that time). I also came up with more stories about them that spun off of that. Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:51:07 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_75086 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_75086 kitandkat Sort-of... I wanted to write from the perspective of someone with cancer (or another serious illness) because I was often sick as a child/teen and didn't really read anything like that. There are books with characters who have cancer, but you don't really get their perspective. So my medical experiences feed into the story that way, though my character has a different disease arc - it's definitely helpful just to have a general idea of procedures and experiences she would have. I purposely gave her a perspective that's different than mine though, and the basis for her views is from a person I worked with briefly. I mostly chose to do that just because I thought it would be interesting to write from another perspective. I do have a supporting character who is similar to me, because I thought our interactions (me and the real person) were really strange and it would be fun to write into the novel. And, that's about it... we're very different people... I've never been ice skating at all while my FMC competes on the national level! Of course I pull in details or experiences from my life, but in an adaptive way. Sat, 15 Oct 2011 20:05:33 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_75830 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_75830 bikegirl115 Writing for me has always been a form of escapism, as I usually write about people with much more interesting experiences than I have. I've mostly written fantasy and science fiction, though the characters are usually around my age. This year, I'm quite nervous because I'm doing something close to life. I am in a high school band, and I play the flute, and though I am not a "band filer" my friend is (my other friend is the "assistant band filer", but she is the polar opposite of Sally), which is where I got the idea for my story. The music that's lost is something we played last year, though I originally put it in so my characters could make a bad joke. The difficult thing for me this year is to not make it too autobiographical. My main character is very different from me in personality and way of thinking. This presents its own challenge- how would someone in a similar situation but very different from me react and think? The other characters are not based on people I know, but the stereotypical traits of people fleshed out in what I hope are original ways. The plot of the story is also something that never happened, to any extent, in our band. Still, in such a familiar setting it's impossible not to borrow from things I know, and in some of my characters I see blatant borrowing from real life- then I start thinking... "What would (real life person) do? This character is pretty much turning out to be him/her." It probably isn't a good thing but is amusing. Sat, 15 Oct 2011 23:20:56 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_77950 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_77950 muffinsplanned This year's nano is partially inspired by my own life. I have struggled with depression and I have been bullied. The rest is fiction, though. What I'm most worried about portraying is the parent's divorce in my novel. I've never been through anything like that, so it will be difficult to write... especially since these parents will be very present in this novel, not absent like in my previous ones. Sun, 16 Oct 2011 07:08:07 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_80609 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_80609 Selo Yes and no. I came up with the idea for my plot for this year's novel a couple years ago. Back then, other than the typical teenage big high school setting, it was not based on personal experience. It contains the story of a popular boy dying in a car accident, and all his friends and family trying to cope. But then in January, a classmate of mine really [i]did[/i] die in a car accident. And ever since then, I've found in detailing my plot and coming up with the emotion in the story, I've been drawing on that loss in real life, whether I planned to or not. Sun, 16 Oct 2011 09:27:18 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_81434 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_81434 Ender Delphiki Sh! Don't tell anyone this, but my MC is based largely on my sister. She's got such an interesting life (and on the contrary mine's so boring...). I can't think of anything she hasn't been through as of yet and she's only 22 years old. My story takes her as she was when she was 16, reages her down to 13/14 and mixes elements of her life forwards and backwards a few years. The third person point of view I'm using is rather far from normal 3rd person stories. You can't get into her head because I never got into my sister's head. I never was here and you never read any of this. Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:02:47 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_90099 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_90099 GenevieveThursday I think that I always take experiences from my real life and put them into my writing. My NaNo this year is about a girl who finds a secret admirer note years after it was originally sent. I was going through some stuff from high school when I found some notes I didn't remember ever seeing them before. Then I got the idea of a main character who is in 11th grade in high school & finds a secret admirer letter that was dated from freshmen year. Also, when I was in high school some of my friends and I decided to send anonymous notes to one of our male friends. We created a fake identity and would randomly send him things (in his locker, to his house, to his class) when he least expected it. But they weren't love letters more of "hey, you're cool and here's some neat things" and funny stuff. We made random letters like limericks, cut out magazines with a treasure hunt, and once made a tshirt and told him when to wear it. It went on for months and was probably one the most fun things about jr year. It became this huge thing where a bunch of people were trying to figure out who was sending the stuff and would look forward to the next thing. Of course, they were shocked to find out that it was 4 people. Oh and the guy thought that it was awesome (and understood from the beginning that the sender(s) only liked him in a platonic way). Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:47:58 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_90668 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_90668 Joselyn Actually, part of what my MC is going through is hugely based on something that happened ot me and what I've felt/experienced as a result of it - which isn't ususally the way I write. But in this case it's really something I want to explore. A few years ago I was mugged in a park, and the feelings I had about it since then - apathy to paranoia/fear to a little bit of recklessness - is something that I really want to explore with my MC. Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:02:52 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_91505 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_91505 moremovies85 Yes, mine is inspired by my high school experience. There are major changes all the way around, but the plot is similar to my own life. This will be my first major writing project, and it is something I feel like I want to get off my chest. The MC is not me, but very similar. It is a first person account, and it will mostly be my voice in largely fictional scenarios. Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:13:59 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_91606 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_91606 indigowriter Every novel I write is influenced by my personal experiences. :) But this one, I think, will be heavily influenced. A lot of it will be pulled in from things I've gone through. I hope it works and I don't get bogged down in details. Mon, 17 Oct 2011 01:03:08 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_92002 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_92002 vivalalauren For me, it's more based on feelings than experiences. My MC starts out being really fearful and tense. So in a word, yes. Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:03:23 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_92944 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_92944 AnOctopusGarden I'm writing about band camp. I went to band camp. However, I didn't die there, nor did any of my friends. So yes and no. :D Mon, 17 Oct 2011 05:19:52 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_93284 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_93284 daqu I certainly draw from my own experiences and emotions for my stories, but I can't say that my NaNo novel is inspired by personal experience. It's about a girl who is a dictator's personal assistant, so…yeah. Mon, 17 Oct 2011 08:33:33 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_94385 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_94385 MissAngelAdorer With my MC's antisocial tendencies and financial struggles, definitely. The age and high school grade is the same, too. Everything else, however, is totally made up. Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:16:52 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_95905 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_95905 JennyGibali I think that a lot of my stories are in some way or other about myself. And I think its sub-conscious too, cause I don't realize 'til after I've written it. :P Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:22:19 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_113728 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_113728 Beacon80 For the most part, no. Emily isn't a reflection of me in any real way. But I do think I'll end up drawing on my own struggles with faith and belief to help shape her crisis of faith to some degree. Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:12:29 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_114586 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_114586 im_a_riting_rebel I hope not. I don't THINK I'm dead... *checks heartbeat* Nah, I'm good. In all seriousness, this one was inspired by the fact that I thought I was going to die during my driving lessons and the fact that my friends and I joke around that if we go to Hell, at least we'll be going together and can party on our way down. The combo of that plus some mere trying to figure my beliefs out (few of which are actually appearing in the novel, I might add, but it was interesting) is what really inspired this one. Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:51:13 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_116066 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_116066 pstarr Bits and pieces, for the most part. I tend to lift little details and occurrences from my life and put them into my characters, but while they share similar aspects of my personality/life, I do see them as wholly separate people. My Nano for last year was very personal. While my MC Naomi is very distant and aloof, it's because she got bullied heavily as a kid, and some of the incidents I pulled from my own experiences with bullying. Also, during the first week of November, my grandfather passed away. A large part of Naomi's backstory is reeling from the not-as-recent death of her grandfather, and while I had already planned that part out, getting my own feelings down on paper did a lot for me on an emotional level. Emotionally, she's the furthest from my own personality, but she's the closest to me in all other regards. Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:24:28 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_116458 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_116458 zombie.girl I have elements based on things that have happened to me (part of my character's middle school experience is based off of mine) but other than that, it's totally fictional and strays away from my life. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:02:23 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_129134 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_129134 doctor confidence Yes. Although I try to change it so it's not obvious, and I try to take the emotions from it. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:15:51 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_130411 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_130411 ItMustBeThomas This year I am writing about an experience in high school that will be extremely fictionalized, but when its finished I suppose if you knew me, you would be able to pick out the symbolism. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:21:25 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_130507 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_130507 Zahra My Nano novel last year was based on personal experience. It was my first time doing this, and it was interesting to see how the text behaved when I wrote paragraphs that were very close to me. Won't be doing it again soon, it was hard like hell and even though I liked the end result, there's a limit to how much I can put my own life on the line. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:32:35 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_131645 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_131645 donne.r The plot? No. The character's emotional arc? Yeah, probably. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:36:39 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_135174 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_135174 myyearinlists No. But yes. But also no. I mean, the action itself is in no way similar to anything that's ever happened in my life. I've never been kidnapped by the government so they can do tests on me and one of the thousands of clones of myself that exist in Russia. But the story itself is based heavily on the War on Terror, and I came of age during that time and had many, many instances where I was deeply disillusioned with the government. You grow up thinking that the president is the best man in the world and they and their administration can do nothing wrong, and then one day you realize that there's corruption all over the world and sometimes countries go to war under false pretenses and the president isn't even in really charge, he's just a big furry mascot. That? That's definitely inspired by personal experiences. Ultimately, it's a loss-of-innocence story, set right at that age where you're becoming politically aware and starting to understand this stuff on a global scale. So even though the action is all totally made-up and speculative, the themes are definitely there, and that's where I'm writing what I know, so to speak. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:55:07 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_135480 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_135480 incongruentaporia Not exactly- however a lot of the small things will be based off of my personal knowledge. (National coming out day, going to different drag shows- blah,blah,blah) but the main character and I aren't alike- and we don't feel the same way about things. Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:09:54 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_144217 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_144217 Wisperor Yes/no. My MC runs away from his home because of an abusive father. He goes through several changes and matures throughout the story. Eventually he starts a new life, but he'll never be the same, nor will he ever heal from the experience. A bittersweet ending, the best kind for any kind of story. Fri, 21 Oct 2011 23:04:37 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_165643 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_165643 AdrienEtienne I think that there are certain things that are a part of who I am that I have a hard time extracting from my writing. For example, almost all of my perspective characters are queer in some way. It's not uncommon for me to have characters who are visually impaired in some way. It's not uncommon for me to write characters who are intensely, privately religious (generally in some non-mainstream/personal path type religion). These are all things that draw on my own experiences and who I am as a person. At the same time, my characters definitely aren't me, even if they have aspects of me in them. There's something else that I've noticed recently (because I was looking at some things on these forums). I consistently have a really high concentration of characters of various Asian descent (Japanese, Chinese, and Korean being the most common) in my stories that are set in this world. I don't do it on purpose, it's just what I grew up with. I'm acclimatized to being the only Caucasian person in the room most of the time (going to college and having that not be the case was seriously weird), and I grew up with a lot more cultural input from the families of friends (who were as a whole of Japanese, Chinese and Korean descent, and either they were born not in the US, or their parents came to the US not that long before they were born) than from my own. So little things like this, that are part of my personal background creep into my stories all that time, without me necessarily even noticing. Things about my characters that mirror me: Micah: Micah's trans, but MtF, where I'm FtM. Micah has some of the same sorts of social anxieties that I do. At the same time, Micah is very different from me in that she's very outgoing and actually likes the constant company of people. Shin: Shin's quiet and reserved, but has a very forceful personality when he decides to show it to people. He's got some of my religious stuff going on. He's predominately interested in men. At the same time, Shin's got a family background that is close, caring and very important to him. Hyun-Shik: He's got a lot of my fears. He gets very fixated on people sometimes. At the same time, Hyun-Shik tends to be sweet, friendly, and generally fond of people. I guess the point that I'm trying to make: I am fundamentally going to be a part of any story that I write. Some of the things that any character that I write has experienced are probably going to be drawn almost exactly from my experiences. But at the same time, I try not to just write about myself. Maybe someday I'll decide that I actually want to write a story about something that happened to me, but until then, I'm not going to be drawing too directly. Adrien Etienne Sat, 22 Oct 2011 01:47:03 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_167031 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_167031 NotAnotherExit I was heavily involved in an online game from the time I was 11 to 20, largely because I wanted to have some control over an area in my life during a time when my parents were divorcing, we were moving around the country, and I was feeling very lost. This is very much something that relates directly to my novel, and the experiences I had, while nothing like that my character will have, do influence the novel. I feel my experiences make me the right person to tell this story. And really, why write a story if you aren't the only person who can tell it? Sat, 22 Oct 2011 14:23:02 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_172539 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_172539 EmilyEverAfter I don't have an imaginary friend, I don't hate my parents, and I'm not a social outcast. My novel, however, is being written for me to tell my story while telling another at the same.You see, I had the idea for the novel awhile ago, wrote it down, and forgot about it. I learned about Camp NaNoWriMo this past July and needed an idea other than the novel I was planning. I wanted to be a pantser, and I found Visibly Challenged in my notes. In November 2010, I moved away from a town that I had lived in for six years and back to my home town. Needless to say I didn't win NaNoWriMo with all the chaos, but I did make a few new friends. Among those friends was a certain friend that, as I wrote Visibly Challenged in July, reminded me a lot of my MMC. Before I knew it, I had changed everything and it became semi-autobiographical. The relationship between MMC and FMC became like the one I have with this friend in real life, the struggles that FMC goes through could be compared to those of my past, and my world was placed in another as a hidden reflection. I'm attempting this novel a second time in hopes of finishing it. It is my goal to give the first "readable" copy of this novel to my friend for his birthday next year. Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:20:55 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_191652 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_191652 tomato-greens Like many other people, parts of my stories are inspired by personal experience and parts aren't, but I'm finding as I have more and more experiences that they get more directly reflected in my stories! This year, for example, I'm writing about the daughter of a fisherman in Maine––not something in my personal experience––but I never would have written about it if I hadn't started working as a deckhand a couple years ago. And my characters' various struggles with religion are directly inspired by my mixed religious background. I threw in the mermaids for kicks. So yeah, I think what it seems like I do, and what most people do, is take personal experience and apply it to try and understand situations that don't fit that category, and then a story sort of grows out of that. Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:04:11 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_196638 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_196638 happyfish My MC is struggling with trying to hold on to her best friend who is slowly gravitating toward a more popular girl. I didn't think I was writing about my own issues until I realized I had subconciously named the character after a girl who did the same thing to me when I was a kid... Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:59:44 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_202952 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_202952 ronnieonnieonie Writing is an escape to me, and I usually write about experiences that are much more extraordinary than the things I have gone through. Nothing particularly interesting had happened to me before, but for this year, my nano is going to be some sort of autobiography. I know this sounds weird, but I am using a lot (a lot) of my experiences to write my novel. Mainly because I didn't have enough time to plot this year. But yeah, I am using some of my experiences this year, but I am intensifying them and adding a bit more drama into them. I recently got diagnosed with depression, and an eating disorder. With my novel, I want to get people to realise what it really is to go through these experiences, to understand and to raise awareness somehow. Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:58:05 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_209688 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_209688 cho_chang Mine definitely is. Not the main plot, but the subplot, and a lot of the mc's emotions. I'm working through a lot of personal things in this story, some of which are going to be unpleasant ... I just hope that even though it's written primarily for me that I can speak to others through it as well. Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:39:42 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_214889 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_214889 Unwritten Yes and no. This year, I'm writing about a group of homeschoolers/internet schoolers/some variation thereof who get lost in Northern Ontario after a hiking trip gone wrong. I've never been lost in the woods (and hopefully never will be), but I was homeschooled up until grade 12. My plot isn't based on real-life experiences, but the interactions between characters definitely will be. Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:53:23 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_216533 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_216533 kinokohime Hasn't it been said that people tend to write what they know? I had a less than stellar childhood with not-so-enthusiastic parents raising me and I find it extremely difficult to write normal family situations, so most of my characters have issues with their parents (or lack thereof) One girl comes from a divorced family (mom was the one who left), one girl's parents died when she was five (she doesn't even remember them), one boy comes from a family that values physical strength and appearances (he is small, meek, but has an amazing singing voice), One boy has had his entire life planned out for him by his father (attending the same prepatory school, college, career), One girl has a mother who begs her to be normal (because the girl behaving differently reflects badly on the mother), and so forth. Only a handful of characters come from complete, traditional type family settings. None of these are the exact same situation as mine, but they definitely reflect my upbringing. Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:11:45 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_275133 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_275133 Arianna Erlaine Absolutely not. I occasionally find myself using details from my real life, but only as filler detail when I suddenly realize that I don't /know/ what the details are. I don't write real-world fiction, and very often my real experiences don't /belong/ in the worlds I've created, or I don't want them to. Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:40:11 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_275504 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=2#forum_thread_comment_275504 Coffeedrinker Experiences of friends and family mostly, some experiences are my own. Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:06:33 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_275815 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_275815 LA1065 I don't think my story so much is a reflection of myself, however there are small characteristics in each character which I can personally identify with. I believe I do this in order to create some sort of personal investment in each individual. Sat, 29 Oct 2011 01:21:56 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_276604 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_276604 Rexford My novel isn't inspired by my own experiences, but rather it's inspired by a very small detail, not an experience, that my dad once mentioned. Basically, I got my idea for my story (which has since changed drastically, but the inspiration is still there) from my dad telling me about how he visited his friend's house decades ago, and on the ceiling in the living room was an almost undetectable little splatter of blood. The previous owner of the house had been bludgeoned to death with a fire extinguisher, and after the body was found they had that clean-up team clean up the mess...but nobody really thought to clean the ceiling. Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:13:54 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_282578 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_282578 mfumarolo The novel I worked on this past summer was definitely inspired by my personal experiences, but not an exact retelling of them. The story revolves around a girl in her high school drama club (like I had been) who senior year after years of being a techie decides to audition for a part (also me) and then ends up being an understudy (not me). There are also shennanigans going on with a boy she used to date, but it ended very badly and she never told her friends the real reason she broke up with him (also me). Meanwhile, she starts realizing that she has a crush on her best guy friend (not me). I like to play around with "what ifs?" What might it have been like if I had gotten a part or spoke my mind or stayed instead of gone? My novel for this month is playing off the same idea, but the protagonist is much less like myself. Unlike my other story where it's pretty obvious to people who know me that the main character is a slightly altered version of my teenage self, this time around my protagonist might have feelings like mine, but is in different situations. Or I think she will be. We'll see once I actually get her on the page =) So to answer your question, yes haha Sat, 29 Oct 2011 13:01:18 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_283373 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_283373 jessicab_87 Absolutely, yes. I'm writing a horse-centered MG novel and it's based on my experience with horses, mean girls, etc. :) ___ @jessicaburkhart http://www.jessicaburkhart.com Sat, 29 Oct 2011 17:00:19 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_287247 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_287247 Gabby6216 Most of my novels start out with an idea from something that I've experienced in my life or someone I know has experienced. The details and characters however are all figments of my imagination. For example my story this year is about a girl who watches her younger sister go through addiction and attempted suicide then helps with the recovery afterward while spiraling into her own addictions. My younger sister is almost one year sober from drugs. So experiences with my own past and with watching my younger sister go through recovery have contributed to the story but doesn't make up the details. :) Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:15:55 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_288251 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_288251 QueenWolf12 I use the whole friendship thing, the debaiting your sexuaitly ( I have before and my best friend is having a hard time coping with his at the moent) for mine, and dealing with the loss of a loved one as well. Sat, 29 Oct 2011 21:35:37 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_289313 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_289313 dakuni2000 I'm using some past experiences as inspriation for mine. I'm kinda on the edge of finally being an adult and I want my novel to pay tribute to what I spent years obssessing over which is fandom. Sat, 29 Oct 2011 23:31:36 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_291178 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_291178 Mikkiness Quite heavily based on my life, actually, which is weird, because the main plot is basically a different take on a ghost story. Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:05:48 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_302352 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_302352 sayrah80 [quote=TheBookB] Sometimes I think my novels are a journal of what I wish had really happened. [/quote] My idea for this year was inspired by asking myself what if I had reacted differently to an incident in junior high. The plot kind of rolled on from there as I imagined how one decision could remake how I experienced the rest of my school years. The main character doesn't really resemble me anymore--but then she's the girl who made a different choice. I'm pretty excited about letting her have fun on the page this month and seeing where she ends up. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:10:16 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_338740 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=1#forum_thread_comment_338740 WhitleyChele Yes and no. The backstory / relationship between two of the characters is based on myself (and the idea partially came from my daydreams of being like Jason Bourne), but for the most part, it's all fiction. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:48:11 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_339633 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_339633 crypticxlust Well my main character's college experience is probably going to be a bit similar to mine. Also one character is half based on the personality of one friend and the other half is based on a certain experience of another friend. That's all I could think of for now. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:35:29 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_341837 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_341837 poi_son_joy I think my answer to this has to be a resounding "sort of!" :P See, for example... this novel is about a few different characters who go into a land filled with monsters. One is a girl who goes in order to rescue a new friend. One is a bisexual boy in high school who's kind of geek and doesn't have very many friends, who likewise goes to help someone he cares about. And one is a gay boy in that same high school, kind of a troublemaker, who goes to save his little sister. The two boys, in fact, become good friends before actually, finally hooking up. Now, I've never been a boy, I'm not much of a troublemaker, I'm an only child, and of course I've never gone into some otherworld land or faced down/hidden from/fought monsters. But I DID start identifying as bisexual back in high school, and since figured out I was full-on gay, so I know the feeling of both of those identities even if it is from a female perspective. I was geeky. I had a decent number of friends in high school, but only a few in middle school. I may not have "real" siblings, but I have a couple friends who I consider to bemy sisters and I would do anything I could to help them if they needed it. I know what it's like to be good friends with someone and then falling for them. And I was a scaredy-cat for a long time, so I remember how it felt to pull the blankets up over my head and try to stay perfectly still so that nothing could get me in the dark. ;) So, yes. Not exactly the same experiences, but I definitely try to channel feelings I'm familiar with into my writing. I think that's the real meaning behind "write what you know," anyway! Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:21:35 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_345167 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_345167 krminnj Like many of the other posters, my answer is somewhere in the middle. I think the key here is "inspired by." I believe you can "write what you know" without turning your novel into a memoir. Thu, 03 Nov 2011 05:56:35 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_423107 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_423107 emilyisabella30 My first two NaNos, I tried to write fiction, but kept putting my life in there, because I already knew what happened so didn't have to make it up. It really complicates things when it comes to friends/family/acquaintances reading your novel if they can recognize you or other people they know in it. Even if a character is only half a real person, the readers who recognize the person will think the other half is what you really think/feel about that person. This is my first NaNo writing pure fiction. It is a lot less stressful. I actually want people to read it when it's done, unlike the first two. Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:28:15 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_508697 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_508697 Cuddles54227 Actually, I'm pretty embarrassed to admit, my YA/Romance story is based on a fantasy of me and this guy I know... Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:30:09 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_508750 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_508750 baka_kit It wasn't mean to be, but some of my experience of being bullied for being queer, even by adults, is getting in there. My protagonist isn't much like me; she stands up to the bullies even when it gets her in more trouble. Also she's MtF trans, where I'm cisgender bisexual. Also, the story is set in space. Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:28:29 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_711328 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_711328 R_C_LandPsMommy05 Yeah, I think my novel is somewhat related to my experiences. Of course, I don't know anyone who can actually see dead people so that's not one of them! lol. I have also never lived in a foster home. But being different, being bullied, people not believing that you have a problem when you do, that sort of thing, I'm all too familiar with it. I'm also close with a few of my cousins and close with my siblings, so my characters have that in common with me. Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:41:29 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_711540 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_711540 SingerSnow My novels not exactly based on my life. I use my friends and their personalities for characters and I use experiences we've had. My story also reflects the feelings I have about my town and my state, but when it comes to the majorly important things, my life couldn't be anymore different. Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:45:21 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_712426 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_712426 thatfreakizzzie My MC is based off of myself but is completely different. Her life and circumstances are very similar to mine in high school, but she has really low self-esteem where I am confident, is shy while I am outgoing, is kind as I am bitchy. However, we both have never dated or ever been kissed. We both are waiting for our Prince Eric (I like him a lot more than Prince Charming) Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:35:28 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_721009 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_721009 alehayes No, but I feel like I'm starting to put some of myself in my FMC. She was supposed to be a bratty slutmuffin. I don't know if I was starting to feel bad for her or what, but she's turning into someone I can sympathize with, someone who's merely damaged and trying to piece back together the remnants of her self-esteem. I feel like if I had made a couple of different choices when I was a teenager, I probably would have ended up a lot like her. Wed, 16 Nov 2011 01:37:39 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_721482 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=3#forum_thread_comment_721482 melwrites312 Not the one for Nano, but I have written stuff before based or inspired by personal experiences. Wed, 16 Nov 2011 08:22:20 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=4#forum_thread_comment_723889 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=4#forum_thread_comment_723889 XVisiEX Yep. And the experiences around me. I don't think it's such a bad thing (If you're writing a story where you and your ex get back together but then he gets shot by your new bf that would be kind of pushing it to me.) in general though it's just certain experiences I have added in to make the plot seem abit more realistic. While not trying to make it preachy Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:19:32 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=4#forum_thread_comment_788506 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=4#forum_thread_comment_788506 Jayne2 The more I plan it out, the more I draw parallels from my own life to a point where I don't know if I'll be able to go through with the writing just yet. I have never written anything before that plays on my own life as much as this current novel does, so it will be very, very interesting to see what turn it takes. The plot itself is far from my life, it's one of the characters personalities, and I think that's what makes it worse - I'll be in his head, it won't just be external. Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:14:50 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=4#forum_thread_comment_1007481 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=4#forum_thread_comment_1007481 Carramae The idea for my novel stemmed from my experience during college freshman year, where for a whole month we all assumed that our best guy friend was gay...but then he said he was in love with one of our friends and it was a huge shock to us. Didn't see it coming at all. Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:03:49 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=4#forum_thread_comment_1202918 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/young-adult-children-s-lit/threads/5131?page=4#forum_thread_comment_1202918