Erudite
Journeyman
Do you write what you know?
My MC is based around my little brother and I, and our interactions.
My MC is based around my little brother and I, and our interactions.
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Write what you know
- Thread starter Erudite
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Miskatonic
Dark Lord
Given I'm writing fantasy I don't think that would be the case.
Maybe when I work on start working on my psychic detective novel that takes place in modern times I'll be able to write more of what I know.
Maybe when I work on start working on my psychic detective novel that takes place in modern times I'll be able to write more of what I know.
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- #3
Erudite
Journeyman
I just mean temperaments, personalities, etc. My little brother and I have quite a complex going on, so it's easy to write a complex between my mc and the younger brother.
goldhawk
Master
Write what you know does not mean to restrict your writing. It means if you want to write about something you don't know, learn about it first.
FifthView
Dark Lord
Yeah, research is a handy tool.
Brandon Sanderson on multiple occasions has brought up the idea that "write what you know" doesn't fit for him and anyone writing in the fantasy genre. Who knows dragons and magic? But I've always thought the phrase should be taken more generally. The life experiences you've had can be incorporated into your fiction. The people you've met can be inspiration for characters you create. Your more general knowledge can be used as a basis for your fantastical creations. In the world I'm now using, one type of magic allows for a sort of long distance communication that would appear similar to our own use of computer tablets—but just doesn't work like our computer tablets work.
Guy
Grandmaster
As a writer of fantasy, I created the world I write about. Thus, no one knows it better than I.
Miskatonic
Dark Lord
I'm trying to picture how I might write what I don't know.
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- #9
Erudite
Journeyman
Familiarity breeds quality, I suppose, is my argument.
I won't get into all the ways that "write what you know" is a loaded statement. But I will say, I think it's possible to know something too well. You can lose clarity about what's interesting, or relevant.
I've never fought a fellow gladiator to the death with a spear.
I've never swung from a noose, tightening around my neck.
I've never shot a man just for snoring.
I've never experienced the labor of giving birth.
I could write all of those....
Well I was being a smart *ss. Guess I need to work on the smart part of that phrase.
What you list, T.Allen.Smith, is what you have not *experienced*. That's different from what you *know*. You know "hanging", for example. You know gladiators.
I was trying to point out that it is literally impossible to write what one does not know, because one would, well, not know it. We know the aphorism is not intended to be taken literally, but that raises the question of what *is* intended. And that, of course, varies by speaker and circumstance. So the saying is so vague as to be useless, except as a way to inflict another layer of guilt and inadequacy on the hopeful writer.
But yeah, we agree.
What you list, T.Allen.Smith, is what you have not *experienced*. That's different from what you *know*. You know "hanging", for example. You know gladiators.
I was trying to point out that it is literally impossible to write what one does not know, because one would, well, not know it. We know the aphorism is not intended to be taken literally, but that raises the question of what *is* intended. And that, of course, varies by speaker and circumstance. So the saying is so vague as to be useless, except as a way to inflict another layer of guilt and inadequacy on the hopeful writer.
But yeah, we agree.