Don't Write What You Know

"Write what you know." When it comes to writing advice, it's right up there with "show, don't tell" and "never pay someone to publish your work" and "becoming a writer is detrimental to your bank account and/or sanity." We're advised to stick to the known parameters and keep our subject matter limited to that with which we're familiar, because that way our writing will convey a sense of realism and we won't risk making an enormous factual error that will cause thousands of readers to throw our books across the room and curse our names forever.

Come on. How many times do you think Ray Bradbury burned a big pile of books, or got himself chased by robotic hounds with syringes full of poison? How often did Frederik Pohl visit Mars? Think of all the great books we would have missed if writers stuck to the "write what you know" rule. Besides, if this rule were obeyed without question, we'd end up with writers working at their skills and reaching that coveted point in their careers where they actually earn a living from it, at which point they would start writing a bunch of books about. . . writers.

(If you think about it, many writers do just that. Which simply proves that no matter how hard we try, sometimes the rules sneak in and bash us on the heads.)

So. . . what's a law-abiding writer to do? How can we step outside what we know and still create stories that come to life; that don't scream "I've never stepped foot in a Harlem strip club in my life, but I'm sure there must be lobster tanks in them somewhere because I need the lobsters for my plot device"? How can we infuse authenticity in a scene that takes place in an alternate reality where cops don't exist and all people from Rhode Island have blue skin?

One word: research.

We have this wonderful tool called the Internet. If you're reading this newsletter, you have access to it-and it's all free. You can find anything about anything, if you know where to look. And your research doesn't have to stop there. Remember libraries? Here's a little secret: librarians are actually advanced alien life forms placed here on Earth to reveal reams of knowledge to we mere mortals. Librarians know stuff. Furthermore, they're real easy to crack: just bring them a plate of cookies and they're putty in your hands.

Then there's my personal favorite font of information: people. Are you writing a book with a cop character? Talk to a cop! They're good for more than writing tickets and blowing whistles at crosswalks. Want to take a crack at the unparalleled excitement of the world of tax return filing? Hie thee to your local Jackson Hewitt and talk to the good folks behind the desks. Start your conversation with the words "I'm writing a book" and you'll be shocked at how much people have to say.

You can write what you don't know. In fact, I say you should write what you don't know. By forcing yourself to learn more about the ways of the world, you not only expand your mind, you become a better writer because you have to work for it.

Besides, just how many streetfighters do you think I hang around with?

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