June 30, 2010

Is the advice “write what you know” valid? Yes, definitely. And no, not always.

It’s confusing advice!

Practical Knowledge

“Write what you know” makes sense when you’re ignorant in some area. For example, I know nothing about vampires, have never read a vampire book, can’t understand the whole vampire movie thing, and can’t for the life of me figure out why a blood-sucking boyfriend would be romantic. It’s just me.

This is the point though: I don’t know about vampires, and I have no business sitting down today to write a vampire novel. It would be so full of ridiculous ideas and mistakes that it would be laughable. I don’t care to look that foolish.

Use Yourself

On the other hand, says Ursula K. Le Guin in “Make your fiction truthful” (The Writer, July, 2010), “Write what you know doesn’t mean you have to know a lot. It just tells you to take what you have, take who you are, and use it. Don’t try to use secondhand feeling: use yourself.” So, does ”write what you know” mean “write exclusively about your personal experiences”?

No, I don’t think so. What you “know” can come from your personal experience–that’s true. But it also comes from other people’s experiences, from books you’ve read and movies that moved you, from research and travel–all blended together when you use your imagination.

The Best of Both Worlds

I believe in “write what you know,” but I’ve also had eleven mysteries published. I will swear to you that I’ve never stolen, kidnapped, set a place on fire, or blackmailed anyone, but I’ve written about it.

However, I made aspects of those stories familiar too. I set those mysteries in the midwest, where I lived all my life. Five are set in real places I’d visited many times. I used many people I knew for my characters. I developed themes that were coming true in my own life or my children’s lives. The character growth and change was real–and it was often me.

Get to Know Yourself

Le Guin says it this way: “If you take it in its deepest meaning, ‘write about what you know’ means write from your heart, from your own real being, your own thoughts and emotions…If you don’t know who you are and what you know, if you haven’t worked to find out what you yourself truly feel and think, then your work will probably be imitation work, borrowed from other writers.” (I hope you’ll get a copy of The Writer and read her entire article.)

You may not think you know much or have had enough interesting experiences, but you’d be wrong. If you have my Writer’s First Aid book, read the chapter on “Getting to Know You…” Take the lengthy survey about your life and keep the information in a writer’s notebook.

The answers to that survey will unearth enough information about YOU to last you a writer’s lifetime.

7 Comments »

1. 

   I think it’s good advice to write what you know (from the heart) and write what you crave to know, what you’re curious about. So many stories and articles have come from juicy tidbits that wouldn’t let go of me.

   Comment by Vijaya — June 30, 2010 @ 2:26 pm

2. 

   I really like this post, Kristi. I believe that if we can imagine what it’s like to be in another person’s shoes, we can write about things we’ve never experienced (especially if we add some research). Years ago, I heard children’s author Claudia Mills speak, and she said she begins (or did at that time anyway)each of her books with an emotion. That makes sense because while culture and society change, the emotions of growing up stay pretty much the same.

   Comment by Jane Heitman Healy — June 30, 2010 @ 2:52 pm

3. 

   Kristi, I love your definition of writing what we know. This statement especially inspires me: “It just tells us to take what you have, take who you are, and use it.”

   I am just beginning a psychological self-study using Beth Moore’s So Long, Insecurity and Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. I feel like there’s a lot of creativity in me that’s been inhibited, so I’m trying to work through it. I just hauled out my copy of Writer’s First Aid, and I see how beneficial it would be for me to revisit the survey you recommended.

   Thanks, Kristi.

   Comment by Trudy — June 30, 2010 @ 3:50 pm

4. 

   I’ve also heard it said (from some place I know not at the moment) that writers write what they can learn. In other words, if your passion is penguins, but you’re not an expert, and you want to write about them, then research it! And then you WILL know it. You still won’t be an expert, but you could certainly write something about them.

   Comment by Christie Wright Wild — June 30, 2010 @ 4:48 pm

5. 

   LOL, Kristi.
   I too am one of those who just can’t seem to understand the Vampire mystique. Having a boyfriend is stressful enough with out worrying if your turtle neck is covering enough body parts so his appetite does not overwhelm him!
   I write the ‘Classic Romantic Suspense Gothic” and that is mystery enough for me.
   I don’t know a lot about castles, but my imagination sure can help out there!
   I’m just going to pop down to the dungeon and have a quick peek about for my next thrilling scene, so if I’m not back in oh, say, ‘about 2 minutes’ send a search party….

   Comment by Linda — July 1, 2010 @ 11:29 am

6. 

   I realize my post is days late, but this incident just occurred last night due to Canada day. I wanted to take my children to the fireworks, My eldest daughter was very excited – it was new and exciting, but she didn’t have a clue what fireworks were so she didn’t know how to draw them or talk about them. Trying to help her understand, I youtubed firework shows – she was in awe. The whole drive to the fireworks, she drew pictures – on the way coming home, I’m surprised she stayed awake; she drew pictures AND talked about them.
   I found this to be like this blog post, if we don’t know much or anything about the topic we are writing it’s not going to be very convincing – the more we do know, the more feeling and enthusiasm we can put into our piece. And at the rate she’s going, she’ll be a fireworks expert by next July 1st

   Comment by Andrea — July 2, 2010 @ 8:53 am

7. 

   Everyone, thank you for the excellent posts. I’ve gotten behind in responding to the comments, but I do read them and appreciate them. Loved the YouTube fireworks idea! Good way for me to watch some and still go to bed early. Also loved the discussion of using books to uncover blocks to our creativity. Anything by Beth Moore is great! And the Artist’s Way is full of gems as well.

   Also, thanks for the email I got from several about your attachment to the vampire movies. It was enlightening! I’m not a convert, I’m afraid, but it did shed some light on its popularity.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — July 6, 2010 @ 6:01 am

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