“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.” – Dalai Llama XIV
Every middle-school writing teacher or textbook has told you to “write what you know.” Write from experience. Describe things you’ve seen. Base your characters off real people.
But WAIT.
That’s BORING.
Well, mostly. It’s basic, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is only a launching pad for more advanced, more articulated and much more interesting writing. Fifth-graders should definitely learn how to draw inspiration—and realism—from their experiences and surroundings. But as writers grow, they should move on, and for a good reason.
People do all sorts of wild and inspiring things during their lives. I spent three months in Italy studying abroad, and the influence it’s had on my writing is incredible (e.g., understanding cultural differences, how to describe majestic architecture, etc...) However, most writers physically cannot do many things that would be fun to write about. For instance, being an astronaut. Inheriting a fantasy kingdom’s throne. Making friends with a sentient lizard. Et cetera.
It’s okay to write about things you know nothing about. You don’t have to write about reading your homework assignments and sitting behind a desk all day. You don’t have to have only female or only male characters. You don’t have to write a story that takes place in your hometown. Granted, these are things you may know a lot about, but it can be extremely limiting. Writing isn’t about limits. It’s about imagination.
Now here’s where the two (‘writing what you know’ and ‘imagination’) collide.
For instance, if you’re a teenage girl trying to write a book about a single dad, observing an actual single dad will make your writing more believable. The nuances of a single dad’s life will match up more coherently with reality. Whether or not this single dad lives on Earth in 2017 or on the planet VT-180 in 3008 is of no consequence. You want your readers to connect with the character because of who he is. If they get distracted by how poorly you’ve captured the essence of single-dad-ness, they will miss all the great qualities of your character. If you take the time to observe/interview/analyze a real single dad and incorporate those elements into the story, the reader will never even have to think twice about it. They will be immersed in your story.
So when a teacher tells you to “write what you know,” don’t assume you have to stay within the confines of your personal life. Get out there. Find people who know more about certain things than you do and weave the believable details you learn into your prose and dialogue. If you want to write about a dystopian steampunk society that is suspended between mountainous jungle trees, then do so. Just be sure the characters develop and interact with each other in a way that the readers will relate to—because it’s what they know. Because it’s what you know.
The smallest bit of reality within the biggest fantasy novel makes a huge difference. And without confines on your imagination, it won’t be boring in the least.
