Dear Diary,

The most common question I get asked about being an author is how I write a story. Considering I already detailed my process in the Patreon series Writing 101, I’m not going to rehash that here. The second most common question, however, is (to me at least) far more interesting: do I write about the things I’ve been through, or am I simply making everything up as I go?

The answer isn’t as simple as one would think.

I guess the best way to answer that would be to simply say this: yes. 😄

When I write, I sort of slip into a reverie, and all manner of things make it to the page – things I’ve been through, things I’ve only fantasized about, and a weird sort of medley of the two. Now, in some of my more erotic works, the line really gets blurred, especially since I have a bit of a checkered past in that department. But in my more serious tales? It depends. There are several stories (Erotic Urban Legends tales, mostly) that I have definitely slipped some of my past experiences into, things I would never have the ovaries to just casually write about in a Diary entry or social media post, but in others? I kind of just let my imagination go crazy, pulling idea after idea from a little text file I maintain called Idea Junkyard. Though those stories are fun, they are little more than an exercise of the imagination, a creative flexing of my talents. Junk food, in a way.

The stories I have personal investments in, however, are my meat and potatoes. My five-course meals. I pour myself into those stories, and (not so) oddly enough, they tend to stir readers the most. Interesting correlation, that. There’s probably a lesson in there somewhere…

The current story I’m working on, a little ditty titled “Sisters,” has more of me in it than many may realize. The tale itself is about these two sisters who basically fall in love with the same guy, and both of them have such deep issues that the resolution of this can only be jarring.

It’s proving to be a fun tale to write, though some of it hits closer to home than I’m comfortable with. I explain why in the author notes of the story… which you’ll just have to wait to read.

Instant gratification isn’t always a good thing. 😉

#Alexaliens