The Benefits of Writing From Experience
A Look at How Personalized Accounts Produce Better Stories
Jun 11, 2009
One of the joys of writing is the ability to put any sort of character into any sort of position. There is no limit to scenarios when composing a story. Nevertheless, some of the best-written stories are those whose plot, setting, characters and conflict are based off the experiences of the writer. The following is an overview of the benefits of basing fiction on a real-life story.
Personalized Accounts Have Excellent Detail
Details are one of the primary components in writing. Original and points with impact can be difficult to procure when one is not familiar with the subject at hand. At the very least, it can be time-consuming to conjure details that will illuminate and define a given scene.
When one harvests their own life for information, however, they will end up with a number of details that can enliven a story. Even the most creative writers would have trouble coming up with the sort of information that someone writing from experience could produce.
Writing Based on Personal Experience Can be Realistic
Not all stories need to be accurate, but for writers striving to portray a scene in a factual manner, realism is an essential literary element. Writers expounding on a topic about which they know little will have to spend lots of time browsing an encyclopedia, consulting with experts and fact-checking their story—lest it come across as a novice attempt.
Those who make use of their own personal experience should still research and fact-check for their stories. However, their job will be much easier than that of the unacquainted writer, given the amount of detail that they already know about the topic. And the facts that they know about their topic may go beyond an encyclopedia’s breadth of coverage.
Writing From Experience Goes Faster
Anyone who tries to write as fast as they can to save time will probably end up with a subpar piece of work. Nevertheless, because much of the work of fiction has already been “written” in real life, the piece may take less time to write. Of course, as is the case with any imagined composition, there remains the task of establishing characters, settings and conflicts – even if many parallel real-life entities. And writers should work to add to their personal accounts instead of merely copying them down on paper.
Those who say that all fiction writing should be based on experience are making a mistake. Every writer should make use of their imagination to go beyond their own personal accounts. Nevertheless, the more prominent role one’s personal experience assumes in a story, the more detailed, realistic and quickly written it may turn out to be.
