Yup, it seems I’m on another theme week: Use it or Lose it!
The phrase can apply to so many aspects of life, and while many might possibly be more important – it’s certainly fun to apply this phrase to the writing life.
Just as Nia Vardalos used her family heritage and life experience to provide excellent, poignant, hilarious entertainment in ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’, you can do the same thing with your life experiences.
Just as your heritage and experience can help you with world building for your paranormal romance novel – so can the people you’ve met populate that story world.
Got a quirky uncle with wild ear hair on a broken branch of your family tree? Maybe you had a language teacher who got high in his car during lunch and tried to give dictation quizzes while munching on chips and cookies?
Maybe that was just me…
Exploiting a funny, pathetic, or even dangerous character or encounter from your past can be more than cathartic. This is the stuff a fertile imagination can seize and elaborate to the benefit of your story as well as to amuse and engage your readers.
Why not use what real life drops at your feet?
Life’s full of ups, downs, and sidewinding thrills. Use them to the benefit of the world you build for your novel – paranormal or not. Use the odd to emphasize the normal, or use the vanilla washed norm to illuminate what’s so special about your characters and the story they embody.
It’s your story – tell it in the best way – with those amazing characters you’ve encountered by living your life.
Live the adventure!
