One of the most common pieces of advice given to new writers
is, "write what you know." It makes sense – understanding something,
having experienced it, can give a sense of reality and authenticity to a
situation or a story.
Still, in the greater scheme of things, one person's
experience is rather limited. So what do you do when you want to write about
something new?
Bear with me, because
this is going to be a bit circuitous.
I’m a big fan of NBC's singing competition The Voice. Personally,
I'm rooting for Lindsey to win.
She's badass and unique and all sorts of creative. My
favorite performance of hers so far was her duet during the battle rounds, where she and Lee Koch sang Nirvana's Heart Shaped Box.
From time to time, contestants on the show (including
Lindsey) have complained that they don't like a song choice because they don't
have an emotional connection to it. They do have a point – when a singer really
feels a song, it can be a stunning performance. However, I can't quite buy
it.
The other singer in the above video, Lee, initially had trouble with the song. Nirvana is right
up Lindsey's alley, but Lee has been more of a folk rocker. But when he
mentions to Christina Agiulera that he can't quite connect with the song, she
tells him something interesting: Those lyrics meant something particular to
Kurt Cobain when he wrote them. What you have to do is find your own meaning. Make them matter to you.
When I was in college, I took a Middle Eastern Studies
class. It fulfilled my ethnic studies requirement – and it was very apropos, as
the Iraq war was just about to break out. It was a great class, mostly focusing
on religion and womens' issues. Not much of the class sticks in my mind –
except for one assignment.
The assignment was to take part in a debate. My team was
assigned women's issues, particularly the debate about Muslim women who want to
wear headscarves. Somewhat to my dismay, I was assigned the position of
defending the wearing of a headscarf. Seemed like a pretty obvious symbol of
male oppression to me. But since I didn't feel too strongly about the issue
(and being the overachiever that I am) I did the research and came up with the
arguments.
Still, they were just facts on a page – until I started
acting them out in class (we presented the mock debate to the other students).
In saying the words, in acting out the position… it became real to me. I found
myself understanding an issue that I'd had only the vaguest of opinions on
before. Even today, I still wince every time I hear about France's ban on headscarves,
because I created that small connection with the issue.
Back to the original
question
So I suppose I do agree with that frequent advice. We should
write what we know. But I no longer think that as limiting. I see it as a
challenge.
So I share the challenge with you: find something interesting that
you don't know too much about. But don't just read about it – really put
yourself in the position. College classes willing to listen to your debate
might be few and far between, but that' s what writer friends are for. Argue a
different perspective. Find a strange song, or a strange personality you've never understood before. Dig deep into it, examine it from all angles until it becomes something you
understand. Then make into your own.
That's where authenticity comes from.
Excellent advice.
ReplyDeleteI once critiqued a manuscript that had a POV of a Republican politician which was very shallow and stereotypical. It was very obvious that the writer was a hard-core Democrat. And I thought, "really, this is how you think Republicans think?"
I think the great challenge and reward of writing comes from trying to understand perspectives that are different than our own. This is the way we as writers can grow as people. The small ripple in us that changes because of what we have written.
I love this!
ReplyDeleteI remember an assignment in college where we had to write about abortion from both sides of the issue, and if the teacher could tell what our actual opinion was, we would be docked points. Pretty eye-opening stuff.
This applies in so many other ways too. I've always wished I could write a great sword fight. I probably don't have to become a fencing champion to do it, but it takes a lot more knowledge than I've got. It would be so fun to get some sword fighting experience. The advice to write what I know can be a very liberating thing!
Excellent points. Some things I'm just never going to be an expert in, or experience at all - like a space dog-fight or something. But you're so right that it's important to expand on what we do know and be open to all sides of experiences.
ReplyDelete