Writing What You Know
It’s been a revelation for me, how much the world of A FALSE DAWN, my first novel, replicates the world I grew up in. Without realizing it, I was writing about what I know. I didn’t think so at first; after all, the novel concerns a French-Canadian woman living in the 1740s. What do I, a guy living today, know about that?
Turns out, I know a lot. In the world I created for Louise and all my characters, I see the world I grew up in. Much of it is not pretty. Family members who don’t talk to each other, who don’t reach out to help each other, who don’t take enjoyment or pleasure in each other’s company. Some of the people in my life could not enjoy me simply because they were so busy being worried about my safety and wellbeing. That too shows up in the novel.
It’s a world where, if you want to get attention, you have to make people pay attention, even in your own family. If you want to get anything done, nobody helps you. You have to do it yourself.
Sounds a little grim, doesn’t it? Some of my readers think so, and so do I. Don’t get me wrong. People like my characters and my story in A FALSE DAWN. They generally enjoy reading it. But the world I create around my characters is not a warm, fuzzy world for readers. It’s not THE WALTONS. It is what I know.