Advice given to writers is often "write what you know." How dull that seems when taken at face value. Life seems so ordinary. Who would want to read about the day to day life of a teacher, or a carpenter or a plumber?
I'm currently reading a memoir What Comes Next and How to Like It a book by Abigail Thomas. When faced with a roadblock in writing a friend told her, "It seems to me," he emailed me later, "that you start out with what you know or what you think you know and you work within those 'truthful' boundaries until you reach some sort of wilderness of not knowing, and then you find a way through until you see an end, or you find a way through until you find the end that you've already seen."
That paragraph inspired me to search for what other writers say about the advice "Write what you know."
Nathan Englander says that it's about emotion. "Why do we love (those books) we love, why do they change us, why do they touch our hearts, why do they hold so much meaning? Because they are truer than truth; because there is a great knowing within them...Like, have you known happiness? Have you ever been truly sad? Have you ever longed for something?...That's the idea: if you've known longing you can write longing. And that's the knowing behind 'write what you know.'
Kazuo Ishiguro is more blunt: " "Write what you know" is the most stupid thing I've heard. It encourages people to write a dull biography. It's the reverse of firing the imagination and potential of writers."
Paula Fox says, "Now, I was very careful not to tell my students to only write about what you know, because I couldn't define what they knew. That's where the question really begins. How to define what you know."
Dan Brown counters with 'write what you want to know.' "I feel like, it is so difficult to stay intellectually engaged for a year or two in a subject. You should write something that you need to go and learn about."
P.D. James counters with "You absolutely should write about what you know. There are all sorts of small things you should store up and use, nothing is lost to a writer. You have to learn to stand outside yourself. All experience, whether it is painful or whether it is happy is somehow stored up and sooner or later it's used."
To sum up:
Write what you know.
Write what you feel.
Write what you want to know.
Mine your life.
Lorrie Orr writes from Vancouver Island.
Excellent summary you ended with, dear Lorrie. I agree with Dan Brown in it being more intriguing to write about "something that you need to go and learn about."
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed writing manuscripts about things I'm lousy at. They helped me improve in those weak areas of my life.
Blessings.
Thank you, Wendy. I also enjoying learning about something and then writing about it. Often the idea for a piece of writing motivates me to do some research.
Delete"Mine your life." Now that is golden!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tracy!
DeleteIntriguing post, Lorrie! I appreciate the differing viewpoints of the writers you quoted, but truthfully, your summary was the best advice, in my estimation. "Write what you know. Write what you feel. Write what you want to know. Mine your life."
ReplyDeleteThank you, Valerie. There are so many different viewpoints. We must all find our own way to use the gifts God gives us.
DeleteHi Lorrie! Thank you for your engaging message. In my experience in writing what I know I have come across matters I don't know about as much. I can then branch out from the familiar to a less trodden path. This is the writer path for me.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alan. Yes, we must all find our own path to write. Every individual is different.
DeleteLoved this post. Thanks for the research, the observations and the sharing! Loved how you summarized all the different points of view. “Write what you feel.
ReplyDeleteWrite what you want to know. Mine your life.” Good stuff!!
Thank you, Sharon. Everyone has a different point of view, and each offers something unique.
DeleteI would suggest that for fiction writers to create a believable setting and atmosphere, they need to write from what they know. Joseph Waumbaugh wrote his novels from his experience as a policeman; the spy stories of Ian Fleming, Len Deighton, and John Le Carre came out of their experience with the British Secret Service. If a writer wants to write about something they don't know, they should find out. Steven Saylor and Lindsey Davis, who both write mysteries set in ancient Rome, have clearly done their homework.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Saylor and Davis might not know personally about life in Ancient Rome, but they cared enough to research and find out.
DeleteThanks a bunch for your post and the comments it generated, Lorrie! Basically what I've understood from your research and this dialogue is that you start with something you know, then it leads you into what you don't know, and that's the challenge. It's like CS Lewis' Lucy hiding in the closet and then discovering the new world of Narnia.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sandi. A great way to sum up knowing vs not knowing what you write.
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