WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW.

[agilebrit]

Yeah, I just saw this terrible "advice" on Yahoo Answers again. And kind of snapped. And ranted. I shall reproduce it here for posterity (because it's entirely possible it will be reported for "abuse"--which I will fight):

Write what you know, yes. And then research the rest. If all we ever wrote about was what we KNEW, I wouldn't have stuck an

Comments

[expectare]

ILU

I always got in trouble for (a) writing stuff I didn't know, like steampunk and pulp action adventures, or (b) writing non-fiction in a fictionalized manner. The former wasn't what I knew, and the latter was "unrealistic." EVEN THOUGH IT ALL HAPPENED.

[agilebrit]

You know, maybe instead of worrying about whether requiring correct grammar "stifles creativity," perhaps we should worry about these other stupid "rules" stifling creativity instead.

If you get a fact wrong in a story, that can be corrected with a little research. But it's so much easier to write if the mechanics of doing so are second nature.

[bojojoti]

Amen.

But then, you do know what you write, because you research...

The science fiction section would be way skinnier if people only wrote what they knew. Fantasy, too.

[agilebrit]

Yeah, I've never met a werewolf. Guess I should stop writing about them, stat.

[texanfan]

I think a better slogan might be "don't write in ignorance." In this day and time, with all the research available there really is no excuse for it.

[agilebrit]

Seriously. And there's nothing wrong with asking questions of people who might possibly be on the ground in the places you don't have firsthand knowledge of. But apparently the sanctimonious twits at Slogans R Us were out in force last night.

[lady_moriel]

I think the biggest problem with the "write what you know" chestnut is that it is useful, but only to a point, and the point to which it's useful and the sense in which it's actually useful seem to be wildly misunderstood. Because yeah: if everybody stuck strictly to writing what they knew, very few people would write anything very interesting. So people who are responding with this on Yahoo Answers to research questions, as it sounds like they were in this case, are being...almost completely unhelpful

[agilebrit]

The response that triggered the rant was this:

A general rule of writing: If you don't know about it, don't write about it. Common sense, really.

I can understand why you would want it to be a real place, so the story seems more "real." But, honestly, just make a place up, based upon the places you know in reality. It can be just as convincing.

And it's not the first time I've seen something like that on YA, where apparently, if you don't know about it firsthand and you have to ask questions about it, then you should just give up and write something else. Or something. "Write what you know" is all fine and good, but taking it way too far (as this useless "answerer" did) is what I'm objecting to here.

[solri]

I've seen the same advice in an article by William Burroughs, so unless he was being totally hypocritical (or had a life in a parallel universe even weirder than the one we know about), we can assume that "know" is to be interpreted broadly.

[agilebrit]

And it's fine advice as far as it goes. I just see it taken way too far way too often. Telling someone to "make something up out of whole cloth" rather than using an actual city because they had the temerity to ask a question about it is ridiculous--and that's what I'm ranting about here. :)

Write what you can imagine

[bradrtorgersen]

Having heard this pithy -- but empty -- phrase uttered endlessly, I have concluded that, "Write what you know," is of no use to anyone doing fiction. It's certainly great advice for non-fiction, but fiction writers... Well, if you don't "know" it then by golly MAKE IT UP, most of your readers will never know the difference. Those that complain, well, just say, "I am a writer who writers fiction so I made it up!" Anyone not satisfied with that answer... Probably needs to go find something else to complain about.

Hey, CONduit is starting tomorrow. What's your plan for Friday?

I am on a panel at 1 PM and a panel at 5 PM, otherwise I will do my usual audience lurk on those panels which seem interesting. Haven't figured out yet which ones I will do.

Re: Write what you can imagine

[agilebrit]

I will be there all weekend. Probably arrive at eleven or so, might grab lunch in the cafe or the bar downstairs.

I need to print out some more business cards. Yay.