In his memoir From the Potato to Star Trek and Beyond, Chester L. Richards tells varied and inspiring episodes of his life. One of the most important topics he deals with is learning, throughout the book. With in turn fondness or reflection, he shares some of his educational experiences and the mentors who had profound effects on his life. Formal education Richards spent the first years of his formal education in Catholic schools. He describes the priests who served as teachers as “shrewd and devious” (p. 176), except one, who turned out to be “truly honest, open and forthright.” (p. 178) For the author’s young self, it was a positive…

The personal experiences of authors influence their writing. Aspects like gender, socioeconomic conditions, and race will affect their perspectives and this will be reflected in the book.  Sometimes though, authors go much further. Occasionally, they write themselves into the story as a character, possibly even as the main one! Or they’ll base a scenario in the book on real life experience.  This is a popular literary technique because it makes the book more realistic. The author has been an eyewitness to the emotions, reactions and the outcome.   Based on Real Events As an illustration of this technique, in Brandyn Cross’s The Dark Secrets, the story of the main character (a 12 year-old…