rut

So I have this problem where I write fiction that is mostly true. I find it much easier to write about things I know because then I can give accurate details and emotions into the piece. There are a couple problems with this technique I'm coming to find out. One is that I get defensive of my characters when readers don't like them only because that means the reader wouldn't like me or someone I know well enough to write about. In workshop my characters are being criticized and its not very fun because people are attacking my personality or the personality of my loved ones. I know they don't mean it maliciously, but it's starting to bother me. Another problem with writing about things I have encountered and characters based off of myself is that my stories are becoming too similar. I try to choose events that happened at different times in my life as to alter the character's age, but they're still mostly the same. For my final story I want to try something different. I'm just afraid that I wont tell the story as well if I haven't experienced it. I was thinking of trying a story that I've heard intimate details about from a close friend. That way I can distance myself from the story but still have inside information and make it sound believable.