Did the Teachers Have It Right

clorie26 — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:36:23 -0400

So this is my first time on Nano and I was wanting some advice. I was always told the best way to write is to write what you know. This is why I'm having a hard time choosing between two of my novel ideas. I have always wanted to explore the idea of what a person experiences during a coma. Everybody makes it seem like they go to sleep and wake up years later with no memory of the time in between. So my first novel idea is about a fantastic land where a group of teens travel to after a horrific accident. This is the land where their minds are protected while their bodies recover. My only problem with this novel is that it seems a bit childish to me. My plot ideas are a bit Disney and I don't know how to make them a little darker to give my story emotion and depth. My second novel idea is actually based off an experience I had as a freshman in highschool. My protagonist is a young girl who is very shy but very talented and wants to show all the bullies at her school just how amazing she is by auditioning for the winter musical. So heres my dilema do I write the story I love or the story I lived?

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

Loki Mischief-Maker — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:39:31 -0400

Which one do you get more excited about? That's the one you'll probably have the most ideas for, and the one you are most likely to be able to harness the initial excitement and push it through to the end of the month.

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Kamikaze Mission — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:14:16 -0400

Write the story you love, whether it's something you know or not. An interesting article on NOT limiting yourself to what you know: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/08/don-rsquo-t-write-what-you-know/8576/

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

Eika — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:48:46 -0400

Write what you love. You know how chocolate tastes, the feel of cold water on a hot summer's day, the smell of cut grass, etc. Use that to make it real. But I'm going out on a limb here and saying the authors didn't murder people, travel back in time, or fly on broomsticks. They knew about incredible rage, technology/history, air whooshing by your face and a sense of excitement. Have I made it any clearer?

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

Beacon80 — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:51:56 -0400

The story you love. Always, the story you love. For what it's worth, I have never been a teenage girl, never lived in Maine, and never found three angels in the middle of the forest.

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

luvinpadfoot — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:27:23 -0400

I think writing what you know helps when you start out, but the most important thing is to write what you love. In almost anything you write, there can be something you know, whether it's an emotion you've felt or a character you can relate to. Don't worry about writing something semi autobiographical, just write whatever you feel excited about.

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

Ender Delphiki — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 23:14:15 -0400

Take the risk, I say. You already know what happens in the latter one because it's based on you. Try being creative and navigating yourself through the realms of creativity and the unexplored. It also seems like, since you've provided much more detail about the former option, you must be trying to give us more insight on that one. Don't be afraid if your plot is too childish. Some of the best YA stories out there aren't dark at all. But, you can easily make it more dark since you are creating your own world from scratch.

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THE MORNING AFTER — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:28:55 -0400

I had a hard time with that for the longest time. When I was in grade 6, I had to write a story for an assignment. And the teacher pretty much drilled it into our heads that we were supposed to WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW. Which is all well and good, except being a 12 year old who’d led a very sheltered life, and who’s only adventure had been what came from between the pages of books, I really hadn’t experienced very much that was worth writing about. So I struggled with that for a long time until I learned something really important. WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW is a very true assessment of what a writer needs to do. However, teachers tend to take it too literally. I have a friend who wants to write a short story. And she had absolutely no idea what to write. She’s a stay at home mom with a whole bunch of kids ranging in ages 2-16. Stuck with the old WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW idea, she can write stories about kids, maybe some stuff about what it had been like to be in college if she remembers it... but I suggested instead, as she’s suffered two miscarriages that were really difficult to deal with, she tap into that grief at losing a child. From there, she can write a profound story about loss in any aspect, because she understands grief in the way only a mother who has lost a child can. You don’t have to know what it’s like to be in a coma. But if you can identify some of the strong emotions your character is feeling, such as confusion, maybe fear, maybe excitement, and really tap into those emotions, you can make your character believable without ever having gone through what she’s going through. Write what you feel passionate about. Identify what parts of your character are like yourself and really bring those emotions to the forefront and explore them. In that way, you ARE writing what you know. But you’re just not doing it in the constraining, literal way that teachers have been known to expect from students.

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

Dani257 — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:51:02 -0400

Just to join the bandwagon and say write what you love. As far as your first story, well obviously, I don't know how you'll handle the specifics, but just reading the description doesn't sound at all childish to me. Depending on what angle you take, I think it has the potential to be really serious.

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LadyLinguistic — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:50:54 -0400

What you love! It's fine to write what you know but because it's what you lived, I would not recommend it. Mainly because, you'll just bored writing a story you already know. With the coma story, you can discover the world with your characters. Your imagination, readers and yourself at 15,000 words will rejoice at writing something you love..

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Ayako — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:12:41 -0400

Write the story you love. The teachers had it right, in a sense, to write what you know. When you write what you love, you will end up employing what you know. That's how you'll describe the experiences these teens have, what they see, smell, taste, touch and here. You'll call forth from what you know to create this for them (I know if I saw a gigantic spider, I'd scream and cry, so you know that that's a believable reaction to come from one of them.) Writing what you know goes beyond just plot, in fact, unless what you know is pretty spectacular, I prefer to write what you don't know, what you haven't lived (hence fantasy, dystopia, science-fiction, etc), but write it employing things you know to make it believable, basically.

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

Ronka — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:36:40 -0400

I've always thought "Write what you know" is a non-literal piece of advice. It doesn't mean you should only write about things you've experienced-- how could you write about magic, or vampires, or the Titanic, or star-crossed love? Most people on here (thankfully) have limited experience with war, or plague, or oppression-- can you not tackle that because you've never experienced it? I'd hope not. Some writers, like Hemingway, wrote stories that were basically autobiographical, but in most cases, writers invent stories about things we've never experience first-hand. However, we can still use our experience in life to enrich our writing. I've never fought in a war, for instance, but I have been in meetings with people I found annoying. How can the two experiences merge? Well, suppose my MC is in a unit with a bunch of people he hates. He has to rely in Vin the racist to watch his back when he goes on recon; he has to suffer through Yancy's obnoxious sermons; he has to keep jittery Steven from goes crazy and giving away their position. I can use the frustration I felt in those meetings to make MC's annoyance real; I can borrow traits from the folks who annoy me to make the characters come to life; I can draw on real events to showcase the clashes these people have. I think that's what "write what you know" is about-- not writing stories about your life, but using your life to make your stories more real and personal.

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

mariah125 — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:25:30 -0400

It's up to you, but I'd MUCH rather read that first story than the second. It sounds great!

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chel.c.cam — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:30:02 -0400

I had an amazing creative writing teacher who turned this mantra on its head. He had us write about something we had never experienced. I wrote about eating an olive. He had us describe in great detail how things would smell and taste and how we would feel. It was a great exercise, and really helped me break out of the "write what you know" box. Stephen King wrote Carrie about a female teenage outcast, and it was his first book that got published. I think what teachers mean when they say "write what you know," is that you should write about what you value. What you're passionate about. At least that's how I take it now.

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LDRobwell — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 02:12:22 -0400

People often misunderstand "write what you know". Don't forget that you can know something without experiencing it .

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allwritemel — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 06:21:02 -0400

If it was me (and I'll probably get slated for this) I would probably write the one you LOVE! The reason I say that is the passion you have for the story will shine through. Don't worry about the fact that it sounds "childish" (which it doesn't, by the way!) because you can always edit later. I've done both and hated the one that twas based on an experience I'd had ... the one I love had a passion running through it and I actually couldn't stop writing. I've sent you a nanomail by the way. Mel

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

allwritemel — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 06:22:25 -0400

Couldn't have said it better myself! Mel

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A.J.Horn — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:11:25 -0400

I think Write what you know should be "Use what you know to write what you don't know." It's about using your experiences in life to create something real for the reader. you don't have to have been thrust into a magical world full of dragon, but you are most likely to know what it feels to face the unknown; the fear and the excitement of discovering new things because it's all common thing for human beings. You use what you know, but you don't have to have live it to know about it. For me, it's also about doing your research. Go to your library and learn about whatever subject you want to talk about, or talk to people who know about whatever research you do. Don't go on and on and on about hunting if you never hunt, never knew anyone who hunt and never read about hunting, because then, there are chances that anyone you DID hunt will find it unbelievable. Plus, it's always good to be passionate about whatever you are going to write. Always write the subject that wake you up at night, not the one that make you yawn because it's basically your day to day life... Hope it's helped!

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

damole — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:33:16 -0400

i think "write what you know" is mainly directed to people who have a hard time figuring out what they should write. everyone has experiences, so if you have no ideas, then experience is a great source of inspiration. if you have a wild imagination and lots of ideas, why would you limit yourself? for the sake of realism?

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damole — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:34:16 -0400

i like this take on the phrase!

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pianogirl101 — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:12:40 -0400

I think it all depends on how you do it. While writing what you know has it's good points and it's advantages, so does allowing your imagination to take flight. Just imagine how boring a library or bookstore would be if everyone only wrote what they knew. Entire genres wouldn't exist! That said, you can use what you know like a piece of clay: mould it, shape it, stretch it, make it what you envision your story to be. Sometimes real experience can give life to an otherwise unbelievable situation. But that doesn't mean you can't use your imagination or use it as a side piece to a fantastical plotline. Take a risk in writing, that's what makes it enjoyable! :)

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pianogirl101 — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:13:21 -0400

I agree!

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Lairlin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:57:54 -0400

I knowing a number of teacher they had great fun with the phrase "write what you know." The best argument that one teacher came up with was that “the pupils always ask ‘what do I write about?’ when given a story writing assignment. The most common phrase that we catch ourselves saying is “write what you know” What we mean is I want to see how you can use creative language.” They all agreed in the end that the best stories that they have to mark are the ones the pupils have loved writing. “Loved stories drag you in”. :-)

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BirdWhisperer — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:34:29 -0400

You should always write what you love! If you don't love, why write it? And seriously, your first idea is awesome. I would read that. It doesn't sound very Disney to me, but even if it is, who cares? There's nothing wrong with that. =) Anyway, I've always thought 'write what you know' means not writing about the life of a mail man if you don't know anything about mail men. Which only means you'd have to do a little research first.

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krminnj — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:27:12 -0400

While I am writing about something I know for NaNo (perhaps because I am too lazy to put in the needed research), I think you should go with what you love. You will enjoy writing the novel more, and I think it will make for a better NaNo experience. If you are worried about getting things "wrong" because it is not about something you know, that's what editing is for later if you so choose!

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

Arianna Erlaine — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:29:28 -0400

Write what you love, not what you've lived. I think the teachers were right, but /not/ in the way you're interpreting it-- what you "know" is not just what you've experienced for yourself! It's a topic you love and have done a lot of research on. It's a topic you've done a lot of research on, period. It's an experience your friends have had, or a bad breakdown your roommate went through, or your brother's struggle to overcome shyness (or physical disability, or living in a parent's shadow, or whatever). What you "know" is anything that's not what you /don't/ know. Someone mentioned in another thread that they hate how a book series talked about fishing for crawdads in Maine when there are no crawdads IN Maine-- don't write about a location you've never lived in, visited, or at least done a lot of research on. Don't write about space travel when the most complex technology you understand involves matches being flammable. Don't write about being a war refugee when you can't even imagine what that's like. When someone says, "write what you know," what they really mean is, "do the research." In your case, honestly, you don't have to do much research-- if you've got excerpts from the real world, where people are talking about their bodies healing and/or using medical jargon, or if you plan to describe the accident that put them there, research is a /very/ good idea. Beyond that, though, the story is literally out of your own mind, and you can do whatever you want. My advice, unrelated to research issues? Write what you love. Always, always, write what you love. Memoirs are often boring, even for the writer, and the fact that you lived it doesn't lend it any special shine. Write what you love, and your love for the story shines within it.

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cherylmahoney — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:11:15 -0400

Love all the great advice in this thread--and love that there seems to be a unanimous opinion against the narrow interpretation of "write what you know." I've always thought the phrase should really be "know what you write." You don't have to confine yourself to your life experiences, but do make sure you have the information you need to ground your story. For example, I wrote a novel set on a sailing ship. In real life, I get seasick on ferries, so I've definitely never spent long stretches of time on an 18th century ship--but I can do the research and get my facts right! As someone who mostly writes fantasy, historical fiction and sci fi, if I confined myself to writing what I know from my real life, I would have nothing at all to write...but I know all about the fantasy world I'm setting my novel in.

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Sleekwriter — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:09:45 -0400

Write what you know can include what you've RESEARCHED . . . not necessarily just what you've personally experienced. For example, in one of my novels, a character was suffering from leukemia. I have never had cancer personally, but I did research on the signs, symptoms, treatments, etc, so that my character's experiences were what real people experience when going through cancer treatments.

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

clorie26 — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:02:54 -0400

thank you for all your wonderful advice I think I finally decided which story to do.

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Mr_White — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 15:40:43 -0400

"Write what you know" is not generally a useful piece of advice. However, it can be MADE to be useful simply by turning it on its head: Know what you write. Good luck!

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iamgr_8 — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:50:25 -0400

For National Novel Writing Month, I've decided to throw that old rule "write what you know" into the fire pit. I'm going to write about something I have absolutely no knowledge about: horseback riding. Normally, I could care less about the subject, but for some reason I feel like bringing my own voice to a genre that doesn’t involve swords and sorcerers. I have a plot in mind that I just love, and I know I can make people laugh with this story. I feel like I will be able to focus on the humor and the drama moreif I'm not worrying about horshoes, saddles, and bridles all the time. That will come after NaNo, for now, I get to have fun.

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AnnEliseMonte — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 00:02:40 -0400

Always always always write what you love. Most people don't know what people are like in a coma, so you can take some artistic license, even give it a paranormal or fantasy bent if you want to. It doesn't matter if the idea seems to Disney to you. You can always improve it once you've got the first draft down anyway.

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AnnEliseMonte — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 00:03:09 -0400

*too One of these days I will actually proofread before submitting.

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indigowriter — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 00:48:38 -0400

Always write what you love. :) Anything else and you might not have the drive to finish it. And one thing about Nano is that you need all the drive you can get usually.

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Mikkiness — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:59:08 -0400

Definitely go with the one you love. I've read another 'kid in a coma ends up in a weird mental place' book, and it was really good, not Disney at all. If you want to dark it up (a little), what if they have to confront/relive whatever out them in the coma (people don't generally just fall over is my understanding, so that could be terrifying), or they end up in a kind of nightmare and don't know they're in a coma so they can't die, or there was this old myth I think about if you died in a dream you died in real life. Heck, they might not know they're in a coma, so they may have to work really hard to pick up that something's a little off about their life, and then what that really means, and then how do you test it. Basically, you would be writing a novel set in the scariest most flexible, most amazing place ever and you can go in so many direction with it. It sounds like a really brilliant idea.

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

clorie26 — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:05:52 -0500

lol none of us proofread before submitting don't feel bad

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clorie26 — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:07:16 -0500

thanks to everyone for all there advice. I chose the story that I love which actually turned out to be the second story instead of the first. There were parts to that story that I didn't think about when I first posted this and I am really excited about the idea. Thank you for all you advice

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Michelle Kidwell — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:26:48 -0500

I don't nnecessarily write what I know, at least not in many aspects, that's what research is for. Whatever the story you have to tell tell it, and then as you get farther in, you can always change things if you need to. Wish you all a productive Nanowrimo 2011 Michelle~

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LuLiLa — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 05:58:22 -0500

Out of your stories I would say the first one sounds much more interesting and might be one I would consider reading while the second is the type of book that I hate. I just find all the YA books about children's life at school extremely dry and boring, not sure why, maybe simply because I have to be a YA at school pretty much every day and I am really not into all the social stuff at school (I'm the type of kid who stays away from social events and doesn't talk much with other people at school). In my opinion the second even seems more childish to me, I mean if written properly the first could though it would be unlikely be made into a novel for adults while the second seems to be something only some younger children might be interested in. In my opinion all those school stories don't have much imagination in them, Though by all means I do not mean to discourage you on writing the second, I just like your first idea much better. I never write about stuff I know, I pick crazy topics and have fun with them, creating my characters in a world designed by me. This year I am writing a sci-fi ghost story for the YA age group and I love it though I have no experience whatsoever in anything it's about. Ugh, just realized I'm really late with advice and I see you chose the second idea, I guess if you know the topic well and enjoy writing it that's fine, maybe you could write your other for NaNo next year! :)

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

clorie26 — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:01:45 -0500

thanks for your advice I completely understand why you would feel that way about that type of novel. There are a million of them out there. I have added in much more drama into the story than what really took place and there is a part of the story that is very important to me. When i first posted this i wasn't thinking about the important part. The important part of the story is something i feel very passionately about and its something that doesn't pop up in every ya novel so I am hoping it will help add another level of interest. I started out writing what I remembered and the story has somehow taken on a life of it's own and gone in directions i never anticipated. Thank you so much for your ideas and I will most definitely write the other story next year. I still have some bugs to work out with that one :)

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Icedevimon13 — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:32:50 -0500

I'm glad you feel passionate about what you are currently writing. Don't give up on the first idea though. It reminded me of Monkey Bone (a somewhat twisted movie) and I think if you handle it right it could come out pretty good. ^^

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

donne.r — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:46:10 -0500

Someone at a conference workshop advised, "Write the emotions you know. The content can be researched." Or something like that. :)

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melwrites312 — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 01:08:29 -0500

I agree write what you love. The last thing I wrote (this wasn't for nano) was about a subject I knew very little about. But the story is character driven, and I love the character driven stuff. So I just researched, and made my characters move the story forward. I'm also a research nerd, that may have to do with my Sociology degree,lol. So I don't mind the research part.

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R_C_LandPsMommy05 — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:10:54 -0500

You don't have to write about something you know all about. I have written about foster kids, yet I've never been one and don't know very many I could use as references. I'm just interested in the subject. I'm writing about a kid who can see and interact with dead people right now. I DEFINITELY have never experienced THAT. I love to write about things that are different from me. I don't think you should abandon yourself alltogether, because you won't be able to no matter how hard you try, but if there's an idea in your head that you want to write about space aliens or coma patients or whatever, go for it. Research a little about your topic, but use your imagination and just put your heart into what you write. Like Melwrites312, I write character driven stuff, so I'm constantly thinking up new obstacles for my characters, many of which are different from the obstacles I've faced. I just like seeing them try to jump over those things and I like seeing them finally succeed at the end. I think yes, you will inevitably write about something you know at some point in your story, but it doesn't have to be the main topic. Look at it this way, no one's ever been to Hogwarts, but J.K. Rowling was sure able to write really well about it. No one's ever lived on the moon for more than a little while, but the writers of Wall-E imagined how it might be to live there. You don't have to have experienced something to write about it effectively. If you write well and you're entertaining, it won't matter that you never experienced what you are actually writing. I hope that made sense.

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clorie26 — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:57:18 -0500

omg i love monkey bone i never thought of that but you are right

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clorie26 — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:58:59 -0500

that made a lot of sense thank you for your advice

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wampuscat — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:06:23 -0500

For me, it's write the character that won't get out of my head.

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R_C_LandPsMommy05 — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:37:39 -0500

[quote=wampuscat] For me, it's write the character that won't get out of my head. [/quote] Same here. I've had tons of characters that I've written about who are not like me and haven't had the same exact experiences I had. I could be wrong, but I don't think Roald Dahl went to a magical chocolate factory when he was eleven. Maybe inside his head he did, but not for real. He sure wrote about it though! We were all not here yet when the American Revolution happened, but we could imagine, I'm sure, how it would be to live during that time. :)

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Kaserl — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 02:08:22 -0500

Completely unrelated, but that sounds so cool.....

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M. Marie — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:11:58 -0500

Write what you love! Make it up. My novel is pure fiction and there's a little bit of real-life human nature in there to keep it "real" but the rest is all imagination! Trust me, you'll have fun.

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HarleyB — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 09:50:43 -0500

Write what you love. Imagination makes great stories. Your coma premise is great, wish I'd thought of it. There is an adult book that uses the out of body idea that carries the experience off very well. Its 'If Only It Were True' by Marc Levy. It was made into a movie with a different title (Just Like Heaven) and starred Reese Witherspoon. Your premise is very different from this book. I mentioned Levy's book only to show that its a good idea.

Re: Did the Teachers Have It Right

kat55 — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:50:22 -0500

Go with the first one, the second idea seems a bit overused (; The first idea doesn't sound Disney-ish at all, in fact, I read a YA book(s) that dealt with what you'd like to write about. It might give you some inspiration, I'd reccomend the Jenna Fox Chronicles. (The second book deals with it more, really, but in order for it to make sense, you should read the first, it's not really a stand alone.)