Using Autobiographical Details in Fiction Writing

The great challenge of fiction writing is inventing characters and events that feel real to the reader. Sometimes, when we're working on a piece of fiction writing, we may realize that we don't quite believe the story ourselves-we don't need a reader to tell us that it's not working. One way to climb out of this quagmire is to use autobiographical details.

When we use autobiographical details in fiction writing, that doesn't necessarily mean we're composing autobiographical fiction. What's the difference? In autobiographical fiction writing, the author sticks closely to her real-life story, but changes enough of the details that the work can't be called memoir. In other words, autobiographical fiction writing may tell you a great deal about the author's life, but it's still fiction. Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar is a well-known example of autobiographical fiction writing. People and events in the story are taken directly from her own life, but Plath changed enough of the details that the book can't be categorized as memoir.

If you don't want your work to fall into the category of autobiographical fiction, you can still use autobiographical details in fiction writing. Most fiction writers incorporate pieces of their own lives in their work. This helps to ground their fiction writing in reality.

How do you use autobiographical details in fiction writing? Simply put, you can either alter the details or lift them straight from your life. Changing the details probably won't keep people who know you from recognizing you-or themselves-in your fiction writing. However, it may help to preserve your and other people's privacy for a general reading audience, which has obvious legal and emotional implications.