This reminds me of how in many of my CW classes, they say "write from your own experience" and yet if (generalization, ignoring any perfection of traits) you write a "you" into a story, it becomes a Mary Sue. I've also heard in other writing forums to move as far away from yourself as possible in characterization. And yet you can write about almost virtually your experiences as fiction and have it be a best seller. (See The Bell Jar and numerous others.)
So, like with the gender argument, it seems to more come down to just how well you can write in general. I think, at a certain point, who you are and what you are doesn't matter as long as you pull off what you're writing effectively. With research, characterization, or whatever tools you need.
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Date: 28 Jul 2005 07:13 pm (UTC)This reminds me of how in many of my CW classes, they say "write from your own experience" and yet if (generalization, ignoring any perfection of traits) you write a "you" into a story, it becomes a Mary Sue. I've also heard in other writing forums to move as far away from yourself as possible in characterization. And yet you can write about almost virtually your experiences as fiction and have it be a best seller. (See The Bell Jar and numerous others.)
So, like with the gender argument, it seems to more come down to just how well you can write in general. I think, at a certain point, who you are and what you are doesn't matter as long as you pull off what you're writing effectively. With research, characterization, or whatever tools you need.