The Modern Library Writer's Workshop

Whatever their source, your characters must sand before your mind's eye with the vividness of another being. You must see them, feel the, and care for them as beings apart, distinct from you. This is true even-maybe even especially-of the ones who are based primarily on you. Of the flawed autobiographical fiction I have read, by far the most frequent fault is the failed depiction of the central character. Most novice short stories have some character more or less modeled on their author. Many if not most first novels are at least partly autobiographical. And most such efforts fail simply because the depiction of that prime character is ineffective and dull. It can happen that the peripheral figures are not bad at all; the minor characters, antagonists, foils, and walk-ons may be quite bright and alive. Too bad: They cannot save the day when the autobiographical protagonist is a boring blur. You can't depict what your imagination doesn't see and hear, and most of us see and hear ourselves rather poorly.

~ Stephen Koch