Write what you know

Photo by Ile Ristov on Unsplash

I think there’s a bit of controversy over the idea of “writing what you know”. On one hand, this idea could be limited to the scope of one’s personal life experiences, or how predisposed someone is to research. On the other hand, this idea relates more to the truth a writer invests in the prose they write.

In this way, the truth is both universal, and highly personal to the writer.

For example, when I wrote Vaughan’s story in Dirge of Titans, I wanted to explore feelings of isolation, hopelessness and what it means to have one’s agency removed. As a result, it churned up a lot of dormant feelings inside myself… but in writing (and finishing) the story, the entire process became very therapeutic. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on events that helped inspire the story, as well as what I thought about it.

To go a bit further with this idea, if you believe that there are no original ideas in storytelling, save for archetypal models, then what sets a story like Dune or Star Wars apart is the writer themselves: their individual history, their thoughts and beliefs, their unique cultural analogues that stir their imagination, and a core truth they feel compelled to share with others through fiction.

So far, Chapter 1 in Garland of Stars is stirring up a lot of deep thoughts and emotions. I’ll let you all know how this journey goes as each new installation of this novel progresses.

Up next, I’ll be porting over some works I submitted to Medium, and make them available here. Happy writing / reading!