write what you know
"Write what you know."
What does that even mean?
It's one of the oldest pieces of writing advice out there, but to me, it's either confusing or just something I don't agree with. If I don't quite understand what I'm trying to write about, I research until I feel I understand it fully. So, if you think about it that way, can't I write anything and be writing what I know?
I've heard some people say that this is outdated writing advice, and I've heard some people still quote it as good writing advice. Write what you know, they say. So what do I know?
I know that life is harder than anyone lets on, and that good stories make it easier to bear it. I know that we live in a fallen world where horrible things happen every day and that we can't fix it without God's help. I know that good people more often go unnoticed, but they make bigger changes than all the rest combined.
But if I think harder about this, I find that all of these are found in the stories I love. In Eliza and Her Monsters, a book I read recently and adored, Eliza uses her online comic, Monstrous Sea, as an escape from the difficulties in her life. In The Chronicles of Narnia, no matter what wars or conflicts or terrible things are happening, the heroes are only set on their path to succeed once Aslan(Jesus) arrives to help. In basically anything featuring the superhero Spiderman, he often goes ignored(if not hated) wherever he goes, and yet he does more for his city than anyone gives him credit for.
These are the things we understand.
These are the truths that we embed in our fiction.
I once saw someone on social media say that you should write a story telling the reader what you needed to hear at the age of your target demographic. This was mind-blowing to me, and now it is something I try to do in my writing constantly. I try to give people lessons that I want to learn, should have learned, wish I had known. And this is what we should all do. Because somewhere out there is a kid or a teenager or a young dad or a sad llama who needs to hear exactly what you needed to hear way back when, and now you can help them because now you know the answer.
That's some of the best advice I've ever heard.
So, back to what we were talking about in the beginning. I agree with it, but only if you'll allow me to rephrase it.
Write what you wish you'd known.
That's what write what you know means.
See you next week.
I agree so much with this post.
ReplyDelete"Write what you know" But dragons!! I'm so glad writers don't listen to this rule.
Oooh I agree so much! Dragons!!!
DeleteI have a different interpretation of "write what you know". I don't think it means can't write what you don't (or can't) know, e.g. dragons (or at least I don't take it that way) but, rather, do use things you do know in your writing. For example, many of Stephen King's stories are set in Maine, simply because he lives there and knows it well, and that is a source of realistic detail he can draw on for his tales. It adds a degree of verisimilitude that the stories would otherwise lack if he had set them all in a place he did not know personally. He is leveraging knowledge he has anyway to make his story better. Of course that isn't always possible or desirable, but when it is, "write what you know" is a good tool for the toolbox.
ReplyDeleteSo to you, 'write what you know' means not to be afraid to use what you know to your advantage? That's an interesting interpretation. I hadn't thought of that, but it's an excellent point.
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