'Life experiences: The heart of it all'

 

“Most writers’ ideas and characters come from lifeexperiences.  And why not?  It’s in your life and work, after all, thatyou come in contact with lots of interesting characters.  And I say characters, because people you haveexperience with in your life tend to make up the personalities for thecharacters in your writing.”– Dan Jorgensen
I like to quotewriters on the occasion of their birthdays and today happens to be one for me.  This is a statement I like to share with book clubs and writing groups whenever I meet and talk with them.  Aftermy Tween sports novel Sky Hook cameout a woman who had played on one of my basketball teams as a girl (I coachedgirls basketball for many years) called me and said “That was me in that story, wasn’tit?”  And of course it was. 
I’veheld a lot of jobs and done a lot of volunteering (and volunteering also is agreat way to do things that give you these special experiences).  I’ve been a farmer, cattle herder,meatcutter, worked at a grain elevator and as a crop sprayer.  I was a waiter, been in the Army, coachedboth boys and girls basketball, been a bookseller, acted in community theater, played golf(badly, but I did get a hole-in-one), done public relations and lots and lotsof writing, and taught creative writing and journalism.
A writer's ideas come from the world in which he or she resides.   More often than not ideas come as bits andpieces but I always write down every “bit” and every “piece.”  Part of the puzzle of writing is to try tofit the pieces together at a later date.   Ithink it is a mistake, by the way, to go right to work on an idea – you shouldlet it percolate in your brain for a while, sort of likecoffee.  It will either get richer andgrow in stature or you’ll realize that it’s acidic and needs to be dumped or re-brewed.   Happy writing and happy "writer's moments."