: Re: Do authors often base their characters off of themselves? (I previously asked a related question about projecting myself onto my characters.) I've read just few books where authors use their own

@Kristi637

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There are many variations on this. Some authors (Harper Lee) write "autobiographical fiction," novels based, with more or less fidelity, on their own experiences. Others (Woody Allen) project an author surrogate into all their work, even when the experiences are not their own. Others (Charles Schultz) acknowledge putting pieces of themselves in all of their characters, whether or not there are visible similarities to be discerned.

As with any writing question, there's no defined "right" or "wrong" to this, only a question of what works for you. With that said, you can certainly draw on your own history and experiences, even for characters who are not author-projections, and who are not living your life experiences.

For example, you may not have visited a new planet (like a science fiction character), but you've been to unfamiliar places. You may never have been starving, but you know what it feels like to be hungry. You may not be a detective, but you know how to put two and two together. And so forth.

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