Write What You Know

How does a writer get an idea for a story? The old saying “Write what you know” comes to mind.

Recently, a new follower on Twitter sent me the tweet “You’re really beautiful, so I take it you write all your novels from an autobiographical standpoint … Research & all.”

She was sweet, and I took it as a compliment, but it got me thinking. Was she suggesting I’d lived my characters’ lives?

I write erotica. It’s fiction, though a lot of who I am shapes my female characters. They’re strong women who love deeply, travel the world, and have sex with men—sometimes multiple men at the same time.

So … is my writing a thinly veiled autobiography? And if you write fiction, what does “Write what you know” really mean?

It’s not about events, as I can assure you I have not experienced everything I’ve written. For me, it’s about the emotions associated with events. The extent to which I can connect these emotions to an experience, whether real or imagined, is what breathes life into characters and their stories.

How I can write about the beauty of Thailand without actually having been there? Research it. But how can I convey the magic of falling in love there if I’ve never set foot in the country? The answer is I’ve fallen in love before—that is the part I know. Along with fear, longing, lust and a range of other emotions, I weave stories from my imagination.

The measure of good writing is how successfully you connect your fiction to your readers—on an emotional and an imaginary plane.

Eden Baylee writes erotica incorporating all her favorite things: travel; culture; and sex. She enjoys weaving together stories with edgy themes, and sex is but one way to do it. Her first book, Fall into Winter, a collection of four erotic novellas, is currently available on Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sites located on her website.

Her second book, Spring into Summer is set for release July 2012.

Connect with her via her Website, on Twitter, and on Facebook.