According to the Internet, Mark Twain advised writers to “write what you know.” He then proceeded to write about Tudor subculture in England and other things well beyond the horizons of personal knowledge. And he did it very, very well.
It’s still good advice, though, in its way. A writer who has spent time serving in the Navy is better placed to write a story set on a submarine than a writer who’s worked in a hospital or school. A writer who has studied paleontology is better qualified to write an authentic summer-dig romance than a writer who’s never seen a fossil.
It’s not the only good advice, of course. Fantasy authors deliberately write what they don’t know, and comedy writers might use their own bemusement to their advantage.
Here, I’m going to offer a list of other possible things to write, for those whose knowledge and tastes in fiction don’t necessarily overlap.
1. WRITE WHAT YOU FEAR. Your phobia could form the basis for a scary story or a tale of inspiration and victory. I’ve tapped into a few of my own nightmares to write horror microfiction. (One of the biggest publishers of themed horror fiction I know is Black Hare Press, who regularly publish drabble anthologies.)
2. WRITE WHAT YOU LOVE. When my children were younger, I produced a dozen or so micros on their favorite puddles and sticks, their daisies and wild apples gifts, and their habit of stealing my stuff. I tried to steer clear of outright sentimentality by taking a humorous tone, but there were serious subtexts to what I wrote: Let children be children and Enjoy the things life gives you for free, for example.
3. WRITE WHAT YOU LOATHE. Some years ago, a relative of mine did some voluntary work teaching teenagers hill-walking and orienteering skills. She was obliged to work alongside—guess what?—a Flat-Earther who didn’t believe in maps and didn’t exactly support the scheduled learning. So, I wrote a short story about a Flat-Earther expedition to Antarctica. (Spoiler alert: he gets his skull broken, but it still doesn’t change his mind.)
4. WRITE WHAT YOU SENSE (SEE/HEAR/TOUCH/TASTE/SMELL). Try writing a sensory description piece. In one of my most successful poems, I decide to take literally that misty morning impression that the world has melted and gone. Have fun with everyday illusions; use smells or tastes to evoke childhood, war, or workplace.
5. WRITE WHAT YOU FEEL. It’s incredible how your most personal and most individual joys or struggles can resonate so deeply with readers unknown to you. When Eric Clapton wrote a song expressing his grief about the loss of his child, he never expected that song to become popular, but it did (“Tears in Heaven”).
6. WRITE WHAT YOU NEED. Freedom? Courage? Fame? A rhyme for the color orange? I’ve cracked that last one, BTW. Humorous poets have complained for years that nothing rhymes with orange, but I’ve found one solution: write it in another language. Maybe you have another solution.
Or maybe you have another line of advice that works for you—a “write what you _____”; or a secret to share with us (in the comments below). My list above surely isn’t an exhaustive list. Write what you are hiding.
Fiona M Jones writes short fiction, CNF, and the occasional poem. Her published work can be sampled from her website: FionaMJones.wordpress.com.
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