Writing from One's Background

No writer, no matter how experienced, ignores personal background and history in his or her work. Stephen King makes ample use of his working class background, for example, in his skilled characterization of ordinary people in his work. J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings cannot be adequately understood without understanding Tolkien's Roman Catholicism. One of many examples is the "lembas," "the way-bread," that Galadrial and Celeborn gave to the Fellowship of the Ring as they departed Lothlorien. In the Catholic tradition, the final communion wafer a person receives before death is called "the way-bread," the body of Christ to prepare for the journey across the threshold of earthly life into Purgatory and eventual Heaven. It is nourishment for an arduous journey. The Fellowship was going on an arduous journey to do what seems impossible--to destroy the One Ring of Power. The lembas, the way-bread, sustains Frodo and Sam and their final journey into the shadow of death as they face Mordor and Mt. Doom. The Catholicism would not be noticed by many non-Catholics, yet it is an integral part of Tolkien's story line.

My own work reflects my background and history--rural Tennessean, Southerner, traditionalist, being reared in the Churches of Christ (though later leaving), having a sister and two brothers, was close to my maternal granddaddy, etc. To understand this background aids someone to better understand my books, but is not required--the story should be what drives everything else. Didacticism has no place in good fiction. Yet all my novels are clearly Christian in tone and world view. That should be no surprise, and if I have focused sufficiently on plot and characterization, anyone, no matter what their background, can enjoy my novels. To the extent that I fall in the preachiness is the extent to which I have failed.

Use one's background creatively. Develop characters from people you have known and hopefully from those you have known well. Take events from your past or local events you remember and expand those into a story or novel. Combine several people you've known into one character. Add or remove details from your experiences in a way that you write unique scenes that fit into your novel. Seek out new experiences you enjoy to add more fuel to your idea file. Imaginatively place some of the events of your life into a past or future era and explore what happens. Your background and world view should be fuel that adds another dimension of meaning to your fiction.