How much of what we write is directly from our lives? And how close are the characters in our stories to real people? Phew--that's tricky. I've just found an old letter from a friend, Ann Onnymus, about radio play she wrote. One character was assumed to be me by people who know me, with consequent misunderstandings about my role in Ann's life. Oh dear.
It's especially daunting when you want to write from the viewpoint of a flawed (misogynistic? racist? dishonest?) person. 'That isn't ME!' you want to protest. And then there are critics who say a man can't write as a woman and vice versa. (But I got a nice comment online about a story called 'The Spiral Moon' with a female narrator. The person commenting thought I was female. Maybe it helps to have one of those either/or first names.)
Some stories I've written are almost pure autobiography (with twiddles), I have to admit. But others put autobiography through the mincer. I want to feel free to create a scenario without someone thinking, 'Oh, you didn't do that, did you?'
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