S.G. Browne - Author discussion

I recently read Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman, and at the back of the book there was an interview with the author. One of the questions had to do with questions he hates. He said he hates it when people ask him how much of his main characters are a reflection of him. He elaborated by telling of how embarrassing it was when he attended a reading of one of Jonathan Franzen's books and someone asked the question to Jonathan Franzen and Franzen was apparently super offended (at this point I was wondering how anyone could actually sit through a Franzen reading since I was so repulsed by the awfulness of The Corrections). Anyway, it kind of surprised me, the extent to which both Norman and Franzen are apparently offended by people wanting to know how much of themselves are put into their characters because, I think for many readers, it's a question that pops up.

In my opinion, whenever you read a fiction book yes, you're reading a fictional story but there is a part of the author's soul in it. There are times when you can feel the author's presence in their character(s) and, as a reader, you begin to feel like you are actually learning something about the author; you begin to feel like you identify with the author more than the character. And truthfully, I absolutely love that. For me it becomes about connections so even if I don't know the author I feel like I do know something very personal about them that has come through in their character/story and, if I identify with it , I feel a sort of connection which leads me to wonder if, in fact, I have correctly picked up on those traces of the author or if I'm just blowing sunshine up my ass...haha...

Anyway, all that said, do you hate it when people ask you how much of yourself is in your characters (and if so, I apologize because I think I asked you that question some time ago...haha) and if not, which recurring questions do you get that you hate?

Sorry I didn't see this sooner. I haven't been checking in on Goodreads regularly and I can't seem to get Goodreads to notify me when someone posts to the group.

In any case, to your questions:

Yes, I do get this question about how much of myself is in my characters and no, I don't hate it or get offended. With first person narrative, it's tough not to have some of your world view come through, but I also take things to extremes sometimes or play devil's advocate. So I wouldn't say my characters are based on me.

However, I will borrow an answer given by someone I can't remember at a writer's conference, who said:

"While I am in all of my characters, none of my characters are me."

In other words, if someone who has read my novels meets me and is expecting Andy or Fabio or Nick Monday, they're likely going to be disappointed.

As for recurring questions I get that I hate? While I don't hate any questions, I do get a little tired when people ask me about my writing process or routine. I don't really have a routine, so I end up having to give an answer about my ideal routine. I tend to be a bit of a binge writer and that answer doesn't really seem to satisfy someone who is looking how to develop their own writing routine.

Thanks for the question, Sara. And again, my apologies for taking so long to answer it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see if I can find the Notification Settings on this group so this doesn't happen again.

Scott