Using your own life as an example for your characters

I was recently listening to a podcast (Writing Excuses… if you haven’t listened yet and you’re an aspiring writer, you should definitely check it out) and I noticed that when talking about character, some of the hosts used themselves as an example. For instance, when they spoke of character dialogue habits, they noticed their own habits. I realized that this is a technique I haven’t used frequently enough in my writing lately. Sure, I tap into my emotions when writing an emotional scene, and I’ll occasionally base a setting off a place I’ve been, but I haven’t been examining my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as if I were a character for a while… (and, as I was thinking this, Dancing Through Life may or may not have started playing, which I took as a sign that yes, it was a good idea to stop ‘dancing through life’ and start paying attention to how I work as a character before I end up like Fiyero in Wicked!).

This led me to set a goal for myself: for the past week, I’ve been taking five minutes a day to jot down something new I noticed about myself — a memory or feeling that something evoked, speech or thought patterns, physical habits, etc. While I may not use each of these for my characters, it’s already helping me notice patterns and details that I can tailor to include for other characters. For instance, if I’m going into a stressful situation (like a difficult meeting), bringing a hot drink (tea or coffee) will instantly make me feel more at ease. Which made me think, what would make my character’s feel more at ease?

At the end of the week, I have so many notes and character ideas that my poor notes app is getting scrolled non-stop! I found this writing exercise surprisingly easy and rewarding. I’ll definitely do it again!

Do you have any writing tips or exercises that you found helpful in your own work? I love to hear from fellow writers.