Writing What You Don’t Know

Lately there’s been a lot of chatter about what people can/should write…or not. I’ve expressed my feelings before about writing what you love, and loving what you write so this subject seemed like something I should blog about.

TL;DR: My opinion is pretty simple: write what you want to write. Put in the time, effort, and hard work it takes to make “what you don’t know” as real and authentic as possible.

The old phrase says, “write what you know” and I think that is something all writers embrace. We write characters with similarities to ourselves or people we know. We write about places we’ve been or that have bits and pieces of those places thrown in. We also write about experiences, dreams, or struggles we’ve endured. That’s all very true, but we also write about characters and places and experiences that we never could possibly know–like worlds with magic, or building a colony on mars, or a high school under attack by zombies. So when people claim they (or others) can’t or shouldn’t write what they don’t know, I call shenanigans.

Speaking from personal experience as an alternate history writer, I have to imagine history taking a completely different turn than it did and what that might look like. No one ever lived it, but my job as a writer is to (hopefully) make you believe it could have happened. This takes a LOT of research and sometimes people disagree with my assessment. Sometimes they disagree with things from my own experiences I wove in. Frankly, whether it’s a new city, zombies or a change of history, we have the tough job of making those things real–making them believable. This requires research. Sometimes a heaping ton of research. So much research you want to give up on the idea all together. But when it’s a story we know we must tell, we push forward and do what’s necessary to give it a voice.

Okay, so with that said, what about writing about demographics that you don’t fit into? Other religions, other genders, other sexualities, other races, other mental or physical health than your own? I say, go for it. Be prepared to work hard at this story, though. Maybe harder than you’ve ever worked before.

Important// Your desire to write something outside your experience shouldn’t be about riding a trend. These experiences belong to real people. Real people are not trends. Zombies are a trend, mental health is not. If you want to write about X because you think it will get you published, then you’re writing it for the wrong reasons. If you want to write about X because that character or story is something you feel you must tell, then take the chance. //Important

You might be thinking, “Won’t I be stepping on the toes of people who lived those experiences?” If done to the best of your ability, I don’t believe so. Ultimately, though, people writing about their own experiences and own communities will naturally be more authentic. And they should be. They should stand as something to emulate, not copy. You should work to lift up their voice first and foremost, but this shouldn’t stop you from writing either. It is your duty as the writer to put in the time to ensure these characters, places, or experiences are true to life. Yes, you can certainly still “write what you know”. I believe that is true of any story and you’ll intentionally or unintentionally bring in bits of your life or personality to the book, but there are plenty of things you will not know. There will be plenty of things you never even thought about that play into the lives of other people.

Part of researching what you don’t know should involve asking the people who do. This can absolutely seem terrifying and daunting, because what if you offend them? And you might. But you’ll be glad you got their opinion because it will provide invaluable insight. After all, you won’t find everything you need on the internet or in books. Another important tactic to writing what you don’t know is to read novels about the people you’re writing. Even better if you read the books by AND about the people you’re writing. Learn as much as you can.

Important // Even when you talk to people who have lived the experience you’re writing about, please remember they are just one story and don’t represent the whole of that demographic. There is no single story for Black people, for LGBT people, or any one else. There is no “normal”. Everyone’s story is unique. If you ask for like-minded betas to read, remember it’s true there as well. But also listen. Truly listen to the thoughts and opinions of these people and do your best to honor their experiences. If that means total rewrites, so be it. You’ll be glad you did. //Important

It’s not about being brave, it’s about doing your job and not half-assing it.

So let’s be real, even once your story is out in the world, some people will hate it. People will also love it. Even if it’s an experience you personally lived, people will 100% find something wrong with it — something stereotypical and unbelievable about it. It’s not going to be perfect in everyone’s eyes no matter what you’re writing about. At the end of the day, though, you should be proud of the work you put in and the way you wrote your story, whether it was something you knew or something new.