Write What you Know?

This has always seemed like the most crazy advice in the world to me. Write what you know. Did J K Rowling experience Hogwarts? Did Suzanne Collins get chucked into an arena to fight to the death? Did Shakespeare commit suicide after seeing his love die?

No. Of course not. So my advice is this: write what you don’t know. Write about fairies, torture, war, dragons, alternate dimensions and true love. Write about fires, floods, frangipanis and frogs. Because in the end, people don’t want to know about your life. People read books so that they can experience something amazing. And more often than not, life doesn’t involve the stuff that happens in books.

But the “write what you know” oxymoron does have some worth. It does. But it has worth in a different context than what many people think. It’s not about places or events or beings – it’s about emotions and feelings. Everyone, at some point in their life, has felt angry. Everyone has been sad. The Dementors in Harry Potter signify depression.

If you didn’t write what you knew, people wouldn’t read your books. There would be nothing for them to relate to. If you feel like a book is NOTHING like you (for me, that’s Romeo and Juliet) you’ll put it down or you’ll probably hate it.

Write what you know. You know a lot more than you think you do. You know about sadness, about envy, rage, love and happiness. You know what a sunset looks like. You know what a winter’s day feels like.

Use that. If you’re writing fantasy, if you’re writing about aliens, use it. Use your experiences and your emotions to create something new.

If you’re the most boring person in the world, use that. If you have the same routine every day, use that. If you live in Australia, use that.

Use everything you have. Write what you know.

Naming your Characters

I’ve had many character names over my history of writing. Some, like my main character Rain, have specific meanings. In my WIP, I have a blind character called Thea (goddess of sight) because I wanted a specific metaphor. However, I don’t recommend names like this unless you’re trying to make a point (which I am).

I’ve known people to spend months looking for the right character name, convinced they can’t start their story unless they choose The Right One. Well, news flash: in the real world people have perfectly ordinary names like Chris and Daniel and Jessica. There are very few people named Thea out there, but I use her name with irony. There are very few people named Cinnamon or Yolanda or Blanket or Sunshine.

These are obnoxious, and your readers will most likely hate you and/or your book if your main character is anything like these names. In reality there are many more Plain Janes than there are Optimus Primes. Don’t agonise over choosing a name when the most successful book series of time is based off the character “Harry Potter.”

This is, of course, slightly different when you’re in the sci-fi or fantasy genre. Names like Katniss and Seneca are acceptable here, but they’re not so far from our names that they sound stupid. Zaphod Beeblebrox, for example, is a name that would annoy many people if it wasn’t specifically supposed to be ironic. When in fantasy or sci-fi, choose a name similar enough to ours that it won’t annoy readers.

Basically what I’m saying is that  it’s alright to have a Plain Jane or a Mary or a Sue (but perhaps not a Mary-Sue). Don’t wait for three years to start your story because you can’t find The Right One. Pick a name that fits your needs and stick with it.

Some things to avoid:

-          Names people can’t pronounce

-          Too many names that sound the same

-          Names that don’t fit their age, location, time, or genre, so a 12-year-old English girl wouldn’t generally be called Doris

       Names that sound stupid (see above)

      How do you name your characters? Do you find one right away or take a while to find one? Share your thoughts below!