Inspire Your Writing Using Negative Life Experiences

Great article. I wouldn't be an aspiring writer without my resolve to build from the negative life experiences in my past so this article hit it dead on.

Great insight, Bill! When I was young (a child, a teen, a young adult), I told many stories but never wrote. After marriage and some resulting issues, I put the pen to paper and began writing but never made that connection. Thanks.

Wow - I never knew that about Grafton's books. This makes so much sense, I guess that the things I write about never draw on negative experiences, but now that I write that I am going to have to look back on my hubs and think about that. Another hub to make me think.

And we all have negative stuff don'twe? Cannot get through this life unscathed. There are issues and problems on a daily basis. However I think living in today's landscape is extremely challenging. You said it well for sure..Thanks for all the great writes...the book!

I have always resorted to writing when I am deeply upset, though it has always been confined to my personal journals. Your article made me realize that channeling the passion that results from negative experiences into my writing would make me a more interesting and better writer. As always, reading your article has given me another "AH HA" moment!

Good evening Bill.

What a testimonial , ( not first time ) you being a firm believer in yourself as well as in others ." Writers can make a difference " ever present kindly reminder " you can do it too ( now I know ). Out of negative to create positive, fresh idea to me since the background cultural teaching insisted the opposite. Sigh.

Even though I don't - your question " why do yo write " takes me back where this small boy had to say something when there was no one to listen to- so I wrote and my first published poem at eleven encourager me to continue. . .

I won't exolt the circumstances cutting me off , but, thanks to billybuuck, his supportive encouraging articles will help me be where I belong.

Thank you my friend, from the bottom of my heart.

Voted up , awesome and useful.

Have a peaceful evening, good night.

Bill, I’m really glad that writing has now become your “drug of choice”. You are using it to benefit many budding writers, and you are a born teacher. Like you, I didn’t set out to be a writer; I just fell into it. I was a storyteller as a child, but as I grew older, I had to spend my time on life’s more serious aspects. When I worked as a reporter, I was proud to be writing serious stuff, and I kind of looked down my nose on fluff writers. I realize now that was a mistake.

I have spent the last 35 years earning a living writing or editing too serious works, and now I am ready to write fluff myself. That is why I do a lot of fluff on HP. I’ve also found that my fluff has more sticking power. HP puts my serious stuff out to pasture way before the fluff. I can’t figure that out either because some of my non-dated serious stuff has more hits and comments than the fluff, yet it goes while the fluff remains.

BTW, I like Sue Grafton. Voted you up++

There really IS a lot to write about. Pick some topics and the well will never run dry. As always, a great work, my a great man that can influence, empower, raise awareness, and impassion.

Well, I did print this one out also to add to my Billy Buc folder, and I have read it through and through. I think I've always been shy about being a 'complainer' but I am currently working on 2 books, one of them is titled 'How I Survived Three Heartbreaks in a Five Year Period.' It has been a challenge for me, but this hub has confirmed that I am to do this.

It came at just the right time, and THANK YOU. Voted up, useful, interesting and awesome. You continue to be one of my top mentors.

God bless, Sparklea :)

Well this is a very good piece of writing . It was funny, quirky and kind of kicked ass :)

Life is good and bad. When the bad melts into the page it cleanses a little more of your soul each time.

I really loved this one.

I agree that we should take lessons from our life experiences. Pour them into stories will always become preventive reminders for the writer and readers not to do the same mistakes. Thank for sharing this interesting hub and the lessons in it.

Dear Bill, now that I am over being upset from the other day (unrelated to HP) ... : ) I came back to read your article without being distracted and able to focus better ... and, yes, certainly we can write powerful articles on negative life experiences and turn them around to bring awareness to such negative life experiences, i.e., PTSD, homelessness, cancer, children suffering and the list goes on. Yes, the thought of reaching thousands is powerful. I have been blessed via emails by those who have read something I have written that has actually helped them through a related traumatic event.

Up and more and sharing.

Hugs, Faith Reaper

And here I am thinking that I want t0 be always positive about what I share; but life is both positive and negative, and we can both learn and teach from every situation. Thank you for sharing your perspective.

Bill, you have hit so many nails on their heads. I agree from beginning to end. My passion is not to write, but to get rid of whatever's bothering me, or too much to cope with - mental-bulimia, is what I am suffering. Writing is certainly a healthy addiction.

Voted up and 100% true :)

Not only do you have the talent, Bill, for making very serious topics interesting, but you also know just when to inject the right amount of humor. A possible cell mate named 'Bubba the Killer?'

Yo, I think I know his alter ego, 'Bubba the Lover.' :)

Your suggestions are great, Bill. I find that writing poems inspired by negative or sad experiences is a powerful way to deal with the unhappy events. My original feelings don't disappear completely, but they are much easier to bear.

Bill,

I am with you all the way on this...what a bonus when writing can be therapeutic for the author and beneficial to all who read.

Voted UP and UABI. Hope you are having a peaceful weekend.

Love, Maria

Great hub and even greater advice.

Well said, writing is a place for us to channel negativity! rather than use it in the wrong way, turn these dire feelings into something positive.

Hi Bill, this is a great hub. I have just a little bit about epilepsy, which has been very painful for me. However, I have gotten a lot of responses. Some have been in the form of emails. People whose children have epilepsy and need surgery, people who have epilepsy, and well some ask questions and some ask for prayers.

This is a wonderful hub. Thank you so much for writing it. Once again, if you help just one person, you have done more then you even meant to do.

Michele

Hi Bill. Another great hub. I see from the comments left by Eric that you are making a difference. Just carry on Bill.

Graham.

Another good one Bill. Better to write about it than fester over it.

Great aspects of writing using ones negative experiences and sharing it with others you have thought of many useful suggestions to all writers.

As always Billy another wonderfully created and to the point read.

Many of my hubs as you know come from Negative times. However as I share these times with others they can become a positive from many who learn how to cope with their own negative times maybe.

Brilliant and voted up as always.

Here's wishing you a great weekend Billy my dear friend.

Eddy.

Yes, writing is a great release no doubt! I do happen to be upset this day, and if I wrote about it, it would cause harm to innocent ones when that helps no one. However, I do know I can cast all my cares to the Lord God in prayer and then comes that sweet peace, His peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding. This is pure truth, as I know personally of such. I do write about serious social issues and otherwise to bring awareness and when it is helpful to others in lieu of harming others to no avail.

God bless you and yours,

Faith Reaper

Like you, I hated writing as a kid. A great college professor gave me the inspiration to become a writer. When it comes to writing hubs and even my novels, there are many times I base the hubs or part of a plot line on things that drive me crazy when I think about them (lies, false views of other people, etc) or on negative personal experiences. It is a great way to let off the pressure and talk about how I feel and so on. But I try never to drive people away by only whining and complaining (as they may see it). I want to also provide a glimpse of how the issue was resolved which may help other people going through the same thing find a resolution to their problem.

I could agree with you more Bill.

Writing about the negatives in life is a great healer as we have seen through the stories of many hubbers here including myself in my poetry. It is a great outlet for all those bottled up emotions.

Enjoy your weekend

There are negative things burning a hole inside of me but I don't write about them for fear of upsetting others. Some are known, some are not. Perhaps a story about it would fill the bill....good examples as always Bill.

Letting our negativity out, anger, fear, all emotions that have a way of hanging around. You've given me lots to think about as always.

Voted up, awesome, and interesting. Shared too!

P.S. Have a great weekend!

Bill, you inspire and motivate me. Thank you for another tip on topics that one can choose to write.

Have a great weekend my friend.

Sending you blessings and smiles :-)

What a great gloomy Friday read! It's cloudy and gray down here Bill and I'm reading this while boiling my soup. :)

I'm pretty sure I've done most of what you've said here in my writings simply because they usually come from my humble heart and those that I know of. However, most of my negative or say sad experiences in life are thrown out of my poetry, which I love crafting in the hope that readers would be touched or be able to relate (somehow) and probably learn a lesson or two. You know, life experiences and the likes. Ahh, writing...this is my breathing room!

And thus, my personal mantra in writing: "I aspire to inspire. I am brave. I write." --

Thank you Bill for the motivations and all. I see, you're having a yard sale. Good luck!

Love from the sky~

In my 1o years of professional writing experience, I have found negative experiences often surpass positive experiences. Some of my best poems and stories were written when I was in the verge of suicide.

What a timely hub for me to read. Lately, my mind has been filled with anger over something that happened to me recently. Part of me wants to write about it and the other part of me wants to forget about it. There was even a time when I was feeling like the author Sue Grafton and wanted to make life difficult for the perpetrators. Now, after reading your hub and watching the video, I'm back to thinking I should write about it. It could actually be the thing that heals the hurt.

Have to admit that my writing has been fueled by negative experiences, too, though maybe not of the type you're referring to here. My negative experiences are usually struggles or problems that I've encountered from being in business. I'm guessing that there are a lot of folks facing the same issues. So sharing solutions for the negative IS positive.

Confession: The crazy positive writing kinda makes me want to, as you would say, "projectile-vomit." But, also like you, I can't wait to get writing every... single... day!

Well, its a good thing I haven't lived a completely charmed life... If my life was perfect, I'd have nothing to write about! Of course, I'm joking. This is an excellent reminder of all the sources of "inspiration" that are available to us all.

Another Great Hub, as always, my friend.

Some past events have lead to writings. Most, I am not sure I am ready

to tackle. How does one write about the love/hate relationship of a deceased relative. It could be most cleansing path one could every take.

Or, it could start replaying the emotions at a time where I am not at a place to deal with them, in a healthy way.

I will keep these suggestions with me and maybe I can one day open that can of worms.

Great Hub, Bill. I appreciate all that you do to help your fellow hubbers.

DJ.

I find writing to be very therapeutic. I originally came here to see if I could make a living from it. After suffering through illness after illness, and my son's diagnosis, I'm broke. I need a way to make money. But, I learned on this journey that this probably won't be the way I make the bills....but I've met some friends on here that have made every moment absolutely worth it! Thank you Billy!

Bill, voted up, useful, and interesting. This is a great idea Bill. Writing about negative experiences generates writing from the heart. We all share similar success and failure. I agree, this is a great way to connect with your readers and audience on a personal level. If you can give great advice and information, it's that much better.

Bill: Really, you make such good points in this article. I tend to shy away from using negative topics for writing and really I shouldn't. I hate to sound like a complainer and the teacher in me always comes out positive rather than negative. I'm an encourager etc. But, you have done well with your writing about addictive areas of your life. I don't have an addictive personality, but I have had negative instances happen in my life. It is hard and embarrassing for me to write about them. But, thanks for a really good article on this topic.

That would be something for the CV wouldn't it? Quite like the idea of being a publicist! You deserve all the support you obviously get from all these people who ALL think you're brilliant. Even more power to your elbow! Ann

One of my favorites of yours...I know I say that all the time. You've brought something to the forefront here that's been knocking about in the back of my mind for a while. The only question that remains is exactly how to do what I think I need to do. I love the idea of using writing to deal with personal pain and help others.

Sage advice my friend. I prefer not to think of those little beasties in my life, but you are so correct. Let them out and slay them on the keyboard. Russ Moran

Bill, you are my inspiration - you really found your niche. You are a great teacher.

Now, if this topic doesn't release writer's block, I don't know what will!

I had to chuckle at your allusion to an orchestra leader on Quaaludes. I wonder how many of your young readers are scratching their heads over that one? You'd really stump the panel had you alluded to an orchestra leader flying on 714s!

Emotions offer great fuel for writing. Especially if you're pissed and just want to hit something. I know I find that to be true with me. I grab pen and pad and furiously get out my frustrations. Many of my earlier poems are the result of being angry or hurt. By the time I finished, I felt much better.

Being upset about nursing home abuse involving my mother is what brought me here and I had never written before. I wanted to tell people about all I had discovered and someone suggested here and then after awhile Nell Rose and James A Watkins encouraged me to put it to poetry. Ha! That was the start of something new!

^ across & shared

Some of my best writing has come out of painful experiences. My writing career redeveloped out of a journaling exercise I started when I was going to a psychologist for depression. Kept me from having to take meds for it! How powerful writing can be!

Good morning, Bill!

I was supposed to be out the door already for my morning constitution, but this one affectionately grabbed me by the throat and wrestled me to the ground until I just had to cry out, "UNCLE!" Uncle Billy, that is!

Man alive, Bill, you're a damn good writer! "Toss accelerant on your personal fires and let them blaze out of control in your writing." Wow! I can really relate to this theme!

Another thing that hit me hard and strong is this awareness that our addictive personality is forever deeply entrenched. What CAN change and DOES change if we so choose is the choice of addictions. The constructive "drugs" flow into our souls to fill the void where the stuff we crapped out of our system once took up residence.

Congratulations on yet another excellent piece of writing. Congratulations (and thank you!) on a deeper and universal plane for a far better choice of addiction these days. Aloha, Bill! Great way to start off my Friday!

~Joe

Good morning, Bill - Since much of my life could fuel a long-running soap opera, I have a great deal of material to mine from it. Composite characters and disguised events and settings make it simple to protect the innocent...or the guilty. That's the beauty of fiction--the license a writer has to use the usable yet invent as necessary and interweave the two components.

While I've never kept a journal regularly, I have many times used writing to purge anger, depression, sadness and other negative emotions. The exercise of writing about something painful can be cathartic as well as help the writer see issues and potential solutions more clearly. What a gift we have as writers!

Voted Up+++ and shared

Jaye

P.S. " Happy Birthday" to Eric!

I do this a lot. I used to work with a girl who had the worst, most annoying, rude habits that I had ever encountered. Those habits were incorporated into one of my books and let me say this, when I was writing, that chapter was finished in about 3 seconds as I pounded on the keyboard!! :) Writing is definitely a fantastic release to get those feeligns out. Alternatively, when I wrote Final Journey- it was basically all on life experience since it was about the death of my pup. Great hub Bill!