{"id":288,"date":"2014-03-05T14:26:19","date_gmt":"2014-03-05T20:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/?p=288"},"modified":"2016-12-21T12:35:12","modified_gmt":"2016-12-21T18:35:12","slug":"the-very-last-word-on-bad-writing-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/2014\/03\/the-very-last-word-on-bad-writing-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"The very last word on bad writing advice"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do a lot of these types of posts.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span>I’ve\u00c2\u00a0just never really been interested in discussing the nuances of craft online. There are other writers who are MUCH better than I about offering insight on craft and do so with stunning\u00c2\u00a0skill in their own little corners of the internet. So I decided a long time ago that if that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what people wanted to read, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be much happier seeking it elsewhere because I won’t go on about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

But\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Certain things push my buttons and I get to a point where I can stay silent no more.<\/p>\n

In the past week, I’ve seen three different online posts besmirching arguably the best known bit of writing advice. \u00c2\u00a0Some writers, curiously, have decided that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153write what you know\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is BAD writing advice. \u00c2\u00a0It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so bad, they write entire blog posts about how bad it is.\u00c2\u00a0 Now that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bad.<\/p>\n

Except it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not. Not really.<\/p>\n

I’ve heard some people say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It should be \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwrite what you want<\/i> to know\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

OK. Fine. \u00c2\u00a0That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cool too. But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still nothing wrong with \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwrite what you know.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Nothing. Zip. Nada.<\/p>\n

But, Brian\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you only wrote what you knew, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d never have fantasy or speculative fiction books!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you only wrote what you knew, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d never explore anything beyond your own little mundane world.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Uh huh. Right.<\/p>\n

You know, for writers\u00e2\u20ac\u201dpeople devoted to creativity and exploration and turning words on their ears to expand meaning\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe people who think these things can be a VERY literal bunch.<\/p>\n

Sheesh.<\/p>\n

Honestly, folks, there is NOTHING wrong with telling someone \u00e2\u20ac\u0153write what you know.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d In fact, I think it is EXCELLENT advice for beginning writers. \u00c2\u00a0Some of the first writing assignments you ever get (What I Did On My Summer Vacation) are an extension of this. Expounding on a subject we know best\u00e2\u20ac\u201dourselves\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcomes naturally to all human beings.\u00c2\u00a0 I will never be able to carry on a conversation about quantum physics with any authority, but man can I tell you everything I know about DOCTOR WHO. (Which is a lot.<\/i>)<\/p>\n

And it can be great advice for intermediate to advanced writers too\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.if<\/i> they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re willing to open their minds a bit. (More on that in a sec.)<\/p>\n

All writing advice\u00e2\u20ac\u201devery single piece\u00e2\u20ac\u201dneeds to be taken with a grain of salt. Sometimes, maybe a salt lick.\u00c2\u00a0 Not all writing advice will work for everyone.<\/p>\n

YOU MUST WRITE EVERY SINGLE DAY OR YOU WILL NEVER BE A WRITER!!!!<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been told that many times. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122know what? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t write every single day. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.\u00c2\u00a0 But I get by just fine on being a writer. (See, if I was gonna make a list of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bad\u00e2\u20ac\u009d writing advice, that one would be at the top of my list. Because, see, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work for me. But I know it works for other people. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m cool with that. And because I know it works for other people, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a little hesitant to go around telling everyone what terrible advice it is.\u00c2\u00a0 Why, yes, I am ready to be granted sainthood.)<\/p>\n

So, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s take a step back and open our minds. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s look at \u00e2\u20ac\u0153write what you know\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and maybe, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, see it in a more abstract manner (or, at the very least, not so damned literally).<\/p>\n

Maybe \u00e2\u20ac\u0153write what you know\u00e2\u20ac\u009d means:<\/p>\n

–write with emotional honesty; imbue your characters with the truths you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve discovered in your own life<\/p>\n

–write in a way that reflects you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been paying attention to life here on earth and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve developed an opinion or two about the human condition<\/p>\n

–write about the life you know so you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a first draft and then go back and make up weird stuff so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all cool and everything<\/p>\n

Maybe there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something to this writing what you know thing after all\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6?<\/p>\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the thing: readers MUST relate to books. In some way, shape, or form. That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean you must make your characters \u00e2\u20ac\u0153likeable.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean you must accurately, painstakingly depict every facet of real life. But at SOME level, readers have to find something to latch on to that they recognize (even in a futuristic world where spittle is currency and people communicate by stabbing each other in Morse code).<\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/i> where you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re writing what you know. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re writing something to which readers can relate.<\/p>\n

And you know what? If you still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to do that\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 fine. Go, you.<\/p>\n

Which brings me back to my point: not all writing advice works for everyone (especially if you insist on taking it at absolute face value). \u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Write what you know\u00e2\u20ac\u009d doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work for you because you want to put a stick up your bum and believe it means you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t write about spaceships and other things with which you have no personal experience?\u00c2\u00a0 That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s your prerogative. But just remember that someone else might be able to embrace those words and find the soul of what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to say when they open up their mind to what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153write what you know\u00e2\u20ac\u009d could mean. So maybe lay off the criticism of advice that many, many, MANY writers have used to write some really wonderful things.<\/p>\n

If you disagree, say so below. I can take it.<\/p>\n

(PS\u00e2\u20ac\u201dAlso, do the people who rail against this advice ever stop to realize that most non-fiction relies on writing what one knows?\u00c2\u00a0 Seems to me there are a lot of short sighted fiction writers who are ready to sully the good name of a really EXCELLENT piece of advice because they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see beyond their own fictional constructs. I have YET to hear a memoirist decry \u00e2\u20ac\u0153write what you know.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Just sayin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6)<\/p>\n

(PPS–Also, if you tell someone ‘write what you know’ and they do… You know what? You just got them writing. Give yourself a cookie.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do a lot of these types of posts.\u00c2\u00a0I’ve\u00c2\u00a0just never really been interested in discussing the nuances of craft online. There are other writers who are MUCH better than I about offering insight on craft and do so with stunning\u00c2\u00a0skill in their own little corners of the internet. So I decided a long time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}