Choosing Your Subject Matter

I had a conversation with a storyteller this weekend about what you choose to write about. My feeling is that your life is the best subject matter. And I think it is a very difficult step for a writer to take. I know it was for me: I had reservations as to whether my experience was valid enough; and how would the subject matter affect those closest to me. But I feel that having written material where the seeds are from your own life has been the most rewarding. My experience has been that audiences can sense when you are not coming from that place. And it’s such a surprise when so many connect with your individual experience. So, writers out there…what are your thoughts about writing ‘what you know’? Have you written from a place that is not your experience at all? How has that fared?