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!

Words for Said

There are so many words for “said”: explained, shouted, yelled, whispered, complained, announced…you get the picture. In some of the work I critique, sentences go something like this:

‘Hello!’ yelled Jane.

‘It’s nice to see you,’ announced Mary.

‘What a fine day,’ John commented.

Right. It sounds terrible – not just because of the incredibly lame names I just used, but mostly because of the words for “said” I used. There is nothing wrong with the word said. Having so many different words for said draws even more attention than using it too much.

By comparison, below is an excerpt of my WIP.

‘Sure is,’ Chris says as he appears from below. ‘Best place in the school.’

                ‘Best place in Rain,’ Thea corrects him. ‘Is that what you were named after, Cloud?’

                ‘I don’t know,’ I say. ‘Robert – my dad – was going to tell me, but he got distracted.’

                ‘You call your dad Robert?’ says Thea. ‘That’s a bit strange. Actually, come to think of it, how did you get here in the first place? To the school and whatever?’

                ‘Long story,’ I say, because it is.

                ‘We’ve got heaps of time,’ Thea says. ‘Like, bundles and bundles of it.’

                And the bell rings.

                ‘Maybe not,’ Thea says.

Notice that even though I use “say” or “says” most of the time, it still sounds natural. Now, I probably should have used another example rather than mine, but you still get it…I hope.

The word said is not your enemy. Love it. Treat it with respect. Don’t use it every single time, but using it for most dialogue is fine…good even.

Other editors or authors might tell you not to use “laughed” as a substitute for said. But in that case I actually disagree, because I think it works. You might not be able to laugh while talking, but it conveys the image of someone laughing before or after. Which is a good thing. I would still tend to stay away from unrealistic “said” words most of the time.

Instead perhaps use them as action tags. “That’s hilarious,” he said, laughing. See? It works just as well.

In doubt about which word to use? Said. Said is your friend.

One final note: please don’t use “ejaculated.” Unless you’re trying to make people laugh. 

PS: In my excerpt above, her name isn’t really Cloud. Just if you were wondering.