Write about WHAT you know... not WHO you know.

I learned a harsh lesson some time ago after I wrote a novel and published it online on another blog. I had chosen to write a fictional story based on an event in my own life after hearing quotes from my idols about writing about what you know. Unfortunately I took this too far and decided to include characters who were very much real and hadn't even bothered to change the names. Some of those people became quite upset at the descriptions I had put, while others were upset that they didn't get a mention.

I also had to constantly remind my family who were reading it that it was  fictional; because they knew the very basis of the story was true, they assumed every anacdote within the book was also true and began to question what had happened within my own life.

I also found by including characters that I knew, I always had to be careful to include or not include certain traits and had to be delicate with the character, which made the novel uninteresting and safe. You have to be discriminative with art and nothing should get in the way, and this can only be done by creating completely fictional characters.

I had to do a lot of apologizing and eventually took the book down. I've since decided to re-write the book again in the future with completely new characters, destinations and storylines which are far from what I began with or anyone I've ever met. I then began to write a book about a subject I knew very little about... that didn't do too well either. You need a foundation of understanding, otherwise it just doesn't work.

So that is my advice to you my fellow writer enthusiasts. Write about what you know, but not about who you know; this way your stories will be full of depth and far from offending those you love.