Resonating with Readers

I recently read an article by another author, TerryTyler, in which she wrote about the ideas and motivation for the stories she writes. It got me thinking. What is it in my life - past or present - that enables me to come up with story ideas, conflict, situations, and characters, that resonate with readers?

Although not every story ever written can be absolutely based on someone's real life experiences, it is fair to say that everything we do has an impact on who we are, what we think, what we do.

If in real life, an author experiences heartache, divorce, death, and separation from loved ones, then it
makes it much easier to write about the emotions that a character feels, who is going through one of those life changing events.

Similarly, joy, happiness, and love, can lift us higher than we've ever risen, especially if that love and exquisite happiness is new - or has been scarce in our lives.

So, as an author who writes contemporary romance with a good dash of adventure thrown in, my characters have a tiny piece of my life's experiences in them. The stories aren't about me, nor are the characters based on me, but minute aspects are based on what I know.

There comes a time in one's life when a great epiphany occurs. A major change. A time when we stand at the
crossroads, and ask "which way now?" It happens to all of us. For some people, making any decision is impossible, let alone making the 'right' decision.

So, my characters - both my heroines and my heroes - aren't perfect. Sometimes they prevaricate, not knowing what to do. Sometimes they are afraid of the consequences. Sometimes they fail. But above all, they learn to trust themselves. To have confidence in their own abilities.

I'd like to think that, if my characters have a tiny piece of me inside them, then it's the bit where I learned to trust myself, and to have confidence in myself.