Life experience as material for fiction

Many people have commented to me that my life has been so full of drama that I ought to write my autobiography, or at the very least, I would have lots of experience to tap into. I cannot imagine anything duller than my autobiography. Unless I manage to achieve some kind of bizarre celebrity, there would be absolutely no interest in me, and I am not the type to become a celebrity; I am too ordinary. But in terms of life experience as material for fiction, I suppose it has been useful, but not in the way that anyone might expect.

I realise that I have a tendency to avoid moments of high drama and potential heartbreak; or at least I write about such things in a cool and unemotional way. Instead I seem to focus on the positive. I cannot imagine writing a novel that does not end well, as I am firmly committed to happy ever afters. But whilst that might seem superficially shallow, I realise that this could be something of a strength. My protagonists do not lack courage, and are inclined to take risks and make things happen for themselves. I never really thought about that until today. However, I also realise that I do need to inject more of that natural emotion into my writing, instead of shying away from it. This is something that I will have to work on over the next few years. I have always congratulated myself on emerging from multiple heartbreaks, and more than the average number of divorces, with my dignity and sense of humour intact. I dislike bitterness, revenge, misery and cynicism. But these are normal human characteristics that I should not be afraid to examine closely under the guise of fiction.

However, I am the eternal optimist, and this is what might help me as a writer. It takes a lot of confidence to write. Anyone can tell a story, but few get the opportunity to do so. It does not pay well for the vast majority of writers, so it is always tempting to give it up and get on with something more rewarding and profitable. But if you do feel the compulsion to tell tales then you need an awful lot of ambition, positive thinking and most importantly of all, the ability to spend huge chunks of time alone. Writing is a very lonely occupation, and you need to be able to deal with this without becoming overly introverted. I have learned to be comfortable with isolation, despite being an extrovert and naturally gregarious person. I have learned resilience and acquired a thick skin, all the better to fend off rejection letters from publishers. I have also learned that happiness can be fleeting, and it needs to be nourished and worked at. Nothing in life can be taken for granted and that every opportunity needs to be grasped, and if an opportunity does not come your way, then you have to go out and hunt it down.