Tuesday, May 17, 2011

You Tell Me...

Every man's work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, 
is always a portrait of himself.
~ Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh

I think this is true, at least in part, of me. There is a lot of me in my work. Experiences I've lived through. Emotions I've felt. Some of my hopes, dreams, characteristics, traits I wish I have, traits I wish I didn't have, and all sorts of other things get peppered into my characters and stories. 

How much of you is in your work? Are your works portraits of yourself in any way?

10 comments:

Faith E. Hough said...

Definitely true, though slightly scary, don't you think? I think that's the big reason for the famous writer/artist blues...any set back feels like a personal insult because our art is so tied to ourselves.

Stephanie McGee said...

This is sad, but I have no idea how true this is of my work. It's not something I've ever really paid attention to. That said, I'm sure it's true to a degree.

Unknown said...

I have borrowed settings, characters, themes from my life and experiences into my writing.

But once they come out as a story, they are all mixed up, a hotch-potch of fact and fiction that even I have trouble separating out!


I love the background of your blog!

Paul Greci said...

My work definitely has part of myself in it. It's not autobiographical but my ever-changing take on the world influences the stories I write.

Shallee said...

I love this quote. I think our stories contain much more of ourselves than we often admit. Not only do we draw on our experiences in life, but the novel is chalk-full of our fears, beliefs, and views of the world as seen through our characters. Even if it's only a hint of one side of us, it's us in there!

Sage Ravenwood said...

I think we dip heavily into life experiences when we write. I know I do! Pain, heartbreak, beauty, all those things we tend to delve inside ourselves for descriptions on a deeper level. Same goes for personality traits. I think all this comes out in our writing voice. It's the element that makes our voices unique.(Hugs)Indigo

Christine Fonseca said...

We write - or create - from our frame of reference. It would be impossible to seperate it all out. We are always part of it. IMHO

Shari said...

All of me, or at least most of me, is in my work, since that's all I know.

Marianne said...

Right now I am trying to edit my hometown out of my ms so it is more anonymous. It is incredibly hard.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I don't see myself so much in my work except in the way I write families.
But I do see other people I've known, good, bad and other ways interesting.