My Book is Not About Me

I have attended enough presentations and met with enough authors to know that a question that constantly pops up for writers is "Is this book about you?" Or "Is this character based on someone you know?" "Your character is gay, does that mean you are?" "Your parents are divorced, so are the ones in your book, is this about your life?"

The answer, usually, is no. My book is not about me. Yes, there will always be parts of the author in their book, because the book is a part of the author and it's impossible to completely separate the two, but on the whole, most novels are not the thinly veiled autobiographies readers expect them to be.

J.K. Rowling writes about wizards, but that doesn't mean she knows magic (though it would be awesome if she did). I am not a hermaphrodite, but that doesn't mean I can't write about one. And for any members of the secret service reading my blog, I do think our government could make a few chances, but I am not about to head up a coup.

Making up stories and creating truly believable fictional characters, though, that's what makes an author great. Give the author a little credit and believe in the power of their imagination and skill, because if they really did write all of their books about themselves, there would be no variation in characters, nor difference in plot. Things could get boring very quickly.

PS: If you ever do find yourself transported in real life to another dimension, world, or time via wardrobe, TARDIS, or hole in space, please do write your autobiography, I'd love to read it.