When I first recieved this message from the Universe, I read it and deleted it. But it stuck with me due to something a sister writer said about channeling real-life personal events into current fictional WIPs. What she said and my reply to her made me think. I retrieved the message from my trash folder and I began looking at the message from a diffeent angle. Actually, I turned it upside down, flipped from side-to-side, and looked at it inside out. There was a deeper meaning here when it comes to writing.
Really and truly, Silver, there is only you, and more you.
Celebrate everyone,
The Universe
P.S. I celebrate everyone, Silver, but then, I’ve always known they were you.
Someone who knows me very well said that my Sade Marquis character was me. Brash, snarky, coffee addicted, with a deep sense of fair play. I shook my head. Sade is sooo not me. Neither is Hannah nor is any of the other heroines I’ve created and given stories to. My alpha males aren’t shadows of Lawyer Guy either. Do some of them have some of his traits? Sure. He’s a highly intelligent and educated former military member and a total alpha. But the resemblence stops there.
A very well-known and best-selling author (who shall not be named) was accused of turning her two main female protagonists (two different series) into Mary Sues. If you are unsure what that term means, CLICK HERE for a quick definition and if you’re intereted a somewhat lengthy analyis of the “phenomonon.” I’ll admit, I saw the parallels in her real life and stopped reading both series because it’s one thing to work out some personal issues with your fictional characters but totally another to turn them and the secondary characters into you and yours. Am I guilty of using personal experience in my books? Totally. TWICE THE TEMPTATION and CLAIMING THE COWGIRL’S BABY both touched on things I’m familiar with–deadly tornadoes (TTT) and adoption (CTCB). Do Hannah and Sade share some of my characteristics? Sure. I cuss and suck down coffee. But I CAN (and do) cook. I have a background in law enforcement AND the military. And besides, there’s that whole “write what you know” rule that may or may not be a good idea. LOL
Is it okay to incorporate your experiences in a work of fiction? Yes. So long as YOU aren’t the main character who acts and reacts exactly like you. If you do that, it’s called an autobiography or memoir. But incorporating things you’ve experenced or felt–through the eyes of the FICTIONAL character you created and breathed life into–makes your story more real. You can infuse those emotions into the character. You can use those events to add action to the story and move it along. You can make it feel real for the reader because it was real for you. The twist here is to keep yourself out of it. Which is heard, especially when dealing with emotionally-charged events. Just keep in mind that your feelings may be valid for your character but you have to keep in mind your character–what their background is, how they react to other things, and why they are doing/feeling what they are. It’s a fine line to walk.
So that’s my lesson for today. Like the Universe says, “celebrate everyone” and it’s okay to know that deep down, there’s a little bit of you in them all. It’s genetic, you know, like passing things down to your kids. Because deep down, aren’t our characters our kids?
Silver James 
Crash and Burn. I know you used your knowledge of forensics photography in that one. But you didn’t make it about THAT disaster. Using ones knowledge is different than writing your history into the story. I think that is why it is one of my favorite stories in the series.
I tend to shy away from RL events but yeah, I’m a firm believer in “write what you know” and using it make a story realistic. 😉 Also, glad you like C&B so much! FYI, our favortie HSI dude (Derek) is first introduced in one of the Nightrider books. 😏