How to start writing your own auto-fiction book
Each of us at least once in our life has dreamed of becoming a writer bringing your own valuable contribution to the world’s heritage. People think (or like to think) that they can easily come up with a great book that will change lives, but in fact, instead of taking a pen and describing it on paper, this book always remains somewhere deep in our hearts.
Why does it happen? Maybe you don’t believe in yourself enough or your experience doesn’t look that good to share with others. Anyway, if you are tired of trying, how about entering an auto-fiction genre: not that new, but still worthy to start with.
5 steps to your ideal book
You often see people on social media and hear their stories happening in everyday life. They are ordinary but still interesting to hear about. Fiction here becomes a way of finding out the truth when traditional sources of information have lost their credibility. The main idea is to get some inspiration from your own life experiences and use them as the basis for a good story.
Forget about labels. If the term auto-fiction scares you, remember that the definition itself may be blurry. Some writers stick to the genre while others reject it completely: you may also combine the elements of your personal experience (which are facts) with fiction;
Emotions above reality. If you are writing auto-fiction, emotional truth of the story is very important: you don’t need to represent facts accurately, but focus on the main message instead. The power of this genre is that you can find your own way of telling the story: people remember not what but how they feel about the book;
Differentiate. You should separate yourself (as the author) from your characters even if they are real. It can be pretty hard especially if you are writing about your own experience in the first person, but it is necessary to do because your protagonist deserves to be unique and have their own identity;
- Use your experience – or don’t. Only you decide how much of your own experience to put into your story: either each detail or nothing at all. There is no fixed balance to adhere with;
- Accept similarities. Be ready that your family and friends will go through your book looking for themselves and they will find it. You cannot stop it from happening, so write what you planned to and if there are any questions, just smile and tell them that it is all fiction (even if it is not).
Do you now feel at least a bit more confident about writing?