If you are a writer of any sort, I'm sure you've heard the
familiar advice, "Write what you know." There are articles both
promoting and criticizing this quote. When taken literally, it can scare
anyone out of a writing a book they're passionate about. Someone might not want
to make their main character blind, just because they feel like they don't know
enough about being blind. On a personal level, I often shy away from showing my
stories about school to others for the fear of disapproval since I’m
homeschooled.
I agree—our experiences differ from our stories. I’ve never
been a police officer or have gone to public school. However, I believe the
emotions in our story should be similar to than ones we’ve felt ourselves. Your
parents might have never left you, but I’m sure you’ve experienced the pain of
someone leaving, whether it was the death of a family member or a friend who
stopped talking to you. Of course, these are different situations, but they
cause the same type of emotions: anger, sadness, depression.
Whether it’s a story or even a poem, the emotions are critical.
Recently, I reread The Book Thief,
one of my favorite books in the world. I differ significantly from the main
character, Lisel. I’ve never been in the foster system. I wasn’t alive during
World War II. Even so, I felt like I could have been her best friend. She had a
rare love for words that I have felt. She had the similar, deep relationship
with her father that I do. And because of that, I loved Lisel. Not especially
because I connect to her, but because she helped me understand my own feelings.
I don’t know if the author himself had the same adoration for words that she
did. But because he explored the sensation so deeply, I was able to relate to
it.
It’s hard to write about personal situations, much less show
them to others. There’s always that fear that it will be taken the wrong way,
or *gasp*, the person who inspired it
will read it. I’ve published a few poems that were inspired by a few people in
my life. And yes, I was afraid that the wrong person would read them. But you
know what? Each time I found the bravery to hit publish, I got a lot of feedback. Comments like: “I can really
relate to this. Thanks for sharing.”
Sure, those people might not have had the same problem I
did. But they still were impacted by my words because they were similar to
their own feelings. There is nothing more powerful than the ability to connect
with people. An action movie might keep your attention for two hours, but if
you can’t connect to the characters, what’s the point?
So I encourage you. Don’t be afraid to write what you know.
Write the emotions you have experienced, no matter how painful or personal they
are. Write about the anger that comes when someone mistreats you. Write about
the joy that comes when you move on. Tell
others how you feel.
And then, maybe they’ll understand how they feel. Maybe they’ll realize that they can overcome
the pain.
What are you waiting for?
P.S. I posted for the first time in forever a month ago.
Back then, I had 47 followers and no guarantee that anyone would read it. On
that silly post of mine, I got eight comments and now I have 54 followers. I
don’t know how to thank you guys. I hope you liked this more serious post. What
do you think about my advice?
