Write What You Know

I've always been told it's best to write what you know. My question is how do you do that without identifying real-life people in your characters? The topic I know most deals with my two youngest adopted children and their 'disabilities' brought on by short-stature and the organization we belong to that is such a support system.

I've recently remembered that I had a whole story written about a family with two such children in it. Where is that story, you ask? Beats me! I don't have it on this computer or on my flash drive. I haven't found any hard copies either, except for a few handwritten pages in a small journal.

Thinking back on it, though, I may have unconsciously 'lost' the mss because it was too revealing. At least, to me it was. However, now I think that it'll be one of my better books because I don't leave much to my imagination. I've put a few dreams as well as embellished some actual events into the story and I believe it's pretty good. Without my knowledge of adoption procedures and the short-statured organization, the story would fall flat.

So the remaining question is, how do I complete the story without hurting my kids? They've said they wouldn't mind being in a story as long as I didn't give them any romances, or make them out to be monsters or weaklings. This story definitely doesn't do that. Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? Maybe. Probably.

I just have to take that leap of faith in believing in my talent. It's one of the hardest things for me to do with all the past negative feedback I've gotten from family. All comments have been about wasting my time on a 'hobby' that won't amount to anything productive. Not one of them has read anything I've written.

With the support of my writer friends and my newest friends in another fellowship, I believe I'll become a published author and a good one at that!