Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms. She writes weird books for teens in lots of weird genres like, fantasy (Blood of Kings trilogy), science fiction (Replication), and dystopian (The Safe Lands trilogy). Find Jill on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or on her author website.
You’ve likely heard it said, “Write what you know.” This is wise and makes good sense most of the time. I’ve met writers who say, “But I really want to write about such-and-such, even though I’ve never experienced it.” And that’s cool too. Writing should be somewhat enjoyable. And we all want to write what we want to write. So we should. Don’t you think?
The short answer is yes. But there are some gray areas. And here’s why. Certain situations are often none of our business if we’ve never had any experience with them. Abortion is a good example. I’ve read manuscripts from writers who wanted to make a statement on this controversial topic, and they want to do it through fiction. But if said writer has no life experience with abortion, said writer probably isn’t the best person to tell that story. Because living through something and researching it are two very different things. And true life stories are often more powerful than the made-up ones. That doesn’t mean said writer can’t do it and do it well, but it’s rare. And if said writer doesn’t do it well, the story almost always comes off preachy. If your goal is to make a statement, your story stops being about entertainment and becomes something else.
Here’s what I want you to think about. What have you experienced in your life that you’d be able to write about without needing to research it? For me, it’s things like being the oldest sibling, being poor, living without electricity, going to Japan, being a Girl Scout, bad relationships, living with an alcoholic, living in Alaska, being a fashion designer, being a wife and mom, working in youth ministry, playing the guitar, etc.
Those are just a few examples. Every one of you have your own unique list. And chances are, if you were to write a novel that involved any of the things on your list, the writing would come easier and the writing would be powerful.
So I leave the decision up to you. On Friday, I’m going to talk about researching a topic that you have no experience with but need to write about. For now, share with us in the comments at least one unique-ish thing that you have experience with in your life.