Using Feelings
Instead of taking events directly from your life as the basis for a story, think feelings.
A Touch of Emotion
Sometimes it can be better to use the emotions produced by an experience as a premise for a novel, rather than writing about the circumstance itself. The outcome can become an intense story because you have already broached those emotional boundaries and understand them.
Too Close for Comfort
Sometimes you can be simply too close to an incident if it happened to you. It can distort your writing if you try to capture it. However, you can use the perceptions, and tap into the dynamism of the experience. You can develop it, push the frontier of emotions, and the result can be a smash hit.
Weaving Passion
To breathe life into a story, I generally recommend new writers to weave passions into it, rather than actions. Use your own emotional experiences as a pillar and who knows, you could have the next best-seller.
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Romantic Suspense