“You must stay firmly based in reality when writing,” my creative writing professor says. This means no fantasy, science fiction, or even dystopian stories.
I don’t agree with her, but I nod along as she speaks, because she’ll be the one grading my stories. Still, her words bring up an interesting point, and the old adage agrees with her: write what you know.
But I’ve always taken it at a more figurative level. (I mean, obviously I’m not taking it literally because I’ve never been to Mars, and as much research as I do, I will sadly never know what it’s actually like to be on another planet.) In my eyes, writing what you know can be very limiting, so I try to think of it as keeping something familiar and universal in your writing. Usually I achieve this by trying to create believable characters and put them in familiar situations that people can relate to.
To me, research is part of the adventure of writing. Just because I haven’t been scuba diving doesn’t mean I can’t write about it–that’s not to say I should make things up, but I can do enough research to be able to write about situations in a believable and enjoyable way. Learning about the world your characters are based in and figuring out how things should function in that world is part of the fun of writing.
So why limit yourself to the things you know? There’s a whole world out there, waiting to be written about and shared. Plus, I think there’s a lot more to be gained from reading something different–something edgy or out there. Something that gives you a new perspective on life, that makes you think about things you never have before. Maybe you can create that effect by writing what you know–but I think it’s a little more fun to think outside the box.
I agree with you Kristin. If all writers just wrote what they knew from first hand experience we would surely have missed out on some really interesting reads!! Keep listening to and learning from your professors, but continue your research and expand your ideas too!