TT’s Ten Rules of Writing: #2 (Tip #73)

Make it about you and your life (even if it’s SO not about you and your life).

Yes, the old saying is “Write about what you know.”
But I say condense that and make it “Write about you.”
In fiction, you can do this in big or subtle ways.
If you’re writing a first-person novel about a serial killer, you can still give the monster a personality. That personality comes from you.
If you’re writing a historical novel, you can still write about a subject that interests you.
If you’re dealing with seasonal affective disorder (which I think I am because I saw the sun for twenty minutes in the entire month of April), you can put this in your novel in a character or a scene.
Whoever you are, whatever you’re dealing with, whatever interests you, whatever fears you have . . . these absolutely should go into your story. Because they are the ingredients that give it a unique taste. They provide authenticity and give the story emotion.
Sure, the story might not have anything to do with you. But at the heart of it, it should totally be about you.