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Guest Post
Getting
Personal
Because I write in first person, I am
frequently asked if the main character is me and how much of the story is based
on my personal experience. Both are legitimate questions and I take the
inquiries as a compliment. It means that I have successfully made my character
so believable that readers question how much of the story is based on real
events. I hope it also indicates that I have made my characters relatable and
grounded in a recognizable world.
One of the reasons that I write in first person
is because I find it easier to submerge myself in the mindset of the main character,
to feel and think as the character would. Once upon a time, I was an actress,
and my actor instincts kick in when I write from that perspective. Through the
process, my goal is to expose the character’s innermost world and emotionally
engage the reader. Of course, I must later don an editing hat, rein in the
emotion, and shape the story!
All of this does not answer the questions of how much
the main character is me and how much of the story is fictious. As an author,
there are aspects of my personality that come out in all of my characters. I am less like Kimberly in Ten Thousand I
Love Yous in terms of background and surface traits, but very like her in
introverted ways, inherent optimism, and love of cooking. I have never been
divorced or been a teenage mother. At the same time, I married at a relatively
young age and have been married for a long time. I have experienced being at
odds with my husband, who like Jay, Kimberly’s ex-husband, is a litigation
attorney who works in Sacramento and is handy around the house. Other than
that, my husband is quite different from Jay.
They say there is some truth in all fiction. The
aspect of truth that most readers will find surprising is my affinity with Jay.
Years ago, when my children were little and my husband was just out of law
school, we went through a rough patch that almost destroyed our marriage. I
felt very unseen and taken for granted by my husband. I was so angry with him
that I convinced myself that I did not love him anymore and asked for a
divorce. Thankfully, my husband is a very stubborn man and insisted we go to
counseling, which we did. It really helped us see each other again in a new
light and reopened our communication, which had shut down during his law school
years that we struggled through with two toddlers. I realized that I did really
love him, which was why I hurt so deeply, and that I had to let go of my anger
if I was ever going to forgive him and let love back in my heart.
So is the main character me? No. Did the events really
take place? No. But the emotional terrain journeyed in the story crosses the
scars of my heart and that is the truth about how personal Ten Thousand I
Love Yous is to me.
Meet the Author:
Enter the Giveaway:
TEN THOUSAND I LOVE YOUS Book Tour Giveaway
This looks like a great book, thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really good read.
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