People who make the assumption that authors only write what they know couldn’t be further from understanding the writer’s mind. I shudder to think how boring my books would be if I only drew from my own life. I’ve never personally known a serious criminal or anyone who was murdered. Nor have I ever committed a crime, besides exceeding the speed limit on occasion. I know. Boring, right? And since I run with a fairly tame crowd – all great people but not a murderer among them – imagine the challenge of creating a suspenseful mystery if I wrote only what I know. And just think, if Stephen King only wrote about his personal experiences, he and Tabitha would never have a house guest. I jest. For though the offer is not likely forthcoming, I’d certainly never turn it down!

I’m sure most authors are amused when someone they know assumes they inspired a certain character or story line. It is true that we seek inspiration from everyone and everything around us. But authors are inventive creatures. We go well beyond what we observe in our surroundings and delve deep into our imaginations to craft unique characters and plot scenarios we hope are fresh and original from the seeds of ideas that have been germinating sometimes for decades in our heads.

An author has to fit into the skin of her characters, to imagine being trapped by unfortunate and sometimes violent circumstances she herself has never experienced. Consequently, I think fiction writers become more empathetic beings from being forced to see the world through the eyes of the disparate characters we create.

The process has made me much more aware of the adversities others face and hopefully I’ve become a more compassionate person as a result.

And that is one of the best ways writing fiction has changed me.