Tabitha asked me to talk a bit about where I get my ideas for my stories.
They actually come from the same place—real life.
All the spiritual issues my characters go through—yup, been there, done that. I don’t think I could write them realistically if I hadn’t struggled with those things myself.
Lex’s independent streak in SUSHI FOR ONE—that was all me, baby. I still struggle a lot with wanting to do things my way and not bothering to ask God what He might want me to do. I need to get out of my head the idea that I can actually make a good decision without God.
Trish’s inability to stay away from bad boys in ONLY UNI—oh, momma, I struggled with that a lot. I think a lot of girls can (secretly) relate to this—the one guy you KNOW is bad news, but you can’t help being inexplicably attracted to him. Like Buffy and Angel (I just started watching the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD and I’m lovin’ it!)
Venus’s control freak nature in SINGLE SASHIMI—yes, guilty. I am (a little) anal retentive. It kind of goes hand in hand with my tendency to want to do things my own way (see Lex above).
I’m still struggling with all these issues, but I also know other women struggle with these, too. And what better way to help myself get over myself than writing about it so the entire world knows about it? 
Seriously, I do believe God helped me on the road to overcoming these very bad tendencies by having me write about them. I had to look deep in myself to be real and honest with myself so that I could write about the characters being real and honest with themselves.
In a way, it’s like therapy. Except cheaper than therapy.
Do you struggle with something? Why not write about it? Poetry, or a short story, or even maybe a 50,000 word novel? You don’t have to be Emily Dickinson or Ernest Hemmingway—just give it a shot.
Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. She used to be a biologist, but now she is a staff worker for her church youth group and leads a worship team for Sunday service. She also runs the Story Sensei fiction critique service. On her blog, she gives away Christian novels every Monday and Thursday, and she ponders frivolous things like dumb dogs (namely, hers), coffee-geek husbands (no resemblance to her own…), the writing journey, Asiana, and anything else that comes to mind. Visit her website at http://www.camytang.com/ for a huge website contest going on right now, giving away ten boxes of books and 30 copies of her latest release, SINGLE SASHIMI.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for sharing. It’s always interesting hearing from where authors dig up their inspirations.
I think a lot of writers use their personal experiences. Seems a great place to start and then we can have fun manipulating them into a fantastic story.
Thanks!!
Hi Camy, Loved hearing about how you relate to your characters. I have to say, I could easily picture you as the heroine of each one of the books. smile. Thanks for sharing. Sandra
Thanks so much for having me here, Tabitha!
Sheri, I think you’re right–at least, I hope I’m not the only writer using personal experiences!
Sandra, thanks! Except all my heroines are skinnier than me.
Camy