For those of you who love writing fantasy, I strongly recommend going to rainymood.com. It makes for excellent background while you're writing your story. It also goes well with whatever soundtrack you might be listening to at the moment.
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| A character in a fantasy: beautifully written, heart wrenching, well characterized, and so human. |
Someone posted a very interesting article the other day about the statement "write what you know." In essence, that article was saying that that statement is a fallacy, and then went on to outline arguments about why in ways that were far more effective than anything I could actually argue. So, to keep it simple, I agree with the article. The article can be found here: http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2009/02/write-what-you-know-and-what-you-dont.html. It is a good read, and one that I think can help allay a lot of misconceptions about what people call "good writing."
The simple fact is: it is impossible to write what you know in the context of a fantasy setting. Or even, for that matter, in a non-fantasy setting. If I did that, the only thing I would have to write about would be my life and I'm not going to be so self absorbed that every novel I write is about my life. That's what this blog is for. My life is boring, and simple: I live in a second floor flat in Albany, NY; I work at an office; at the end of the day, I come home and write my book and hang out. It's a simple life, a happy one, and totally boring.
At the end of the article, Ms. Weiland asks the readers a question: Do you write what you know? Or don't you?
Now, I am a fantasy writer. I am unashamed of that fact, although I used to be. Often that shame was the result of people, sometimes people who are very close to me, judging me for not writing about "the real world," or calling me "escapist" or "childish."
Honestly, if I return to school to pursue my MA or PhD, I already know my dissertation will be called The Defense of Fantasy, and it will be glorious.
The belief that people should be "writing about the real world" is not only short sighted and close-minded: it also stunts creativity; it tells people that their art - their expressions of themselves, their babies, the results of hundreds, if not thousands of hours of hard work and perseverance - is not valid; it tries to squeeze the world into this teeny tiny box of "reality;" frankly, it takes color from the world, and without that color, the world would kind of suck. Fantasy literature has been around as long as literature has. If you don't like it, that's fine. I don't like horror or romance, neither do I say they are not legitimate literature.
It has always stung that there are people in my life who think I'm not writing "legitimate literature." It's taken some time for me to realize that the damage here is not mine. My love of fantasy does not mean that I am immature, or that I have a childish writing style. It does not mean I only love fantasy. Fantasy just happens to be my favorite genre, because it has the most life to it, and because it makes much more effective use of symbolism and metaphor to make statements about the real world in which we live. Sure there are sucky books in fantasy literature. Hell, there are many sucky books in fantasy literature.
But here's the big bad secret: there are many sucky books in all genres of literature. For whatever reason, Fantasy gets the most flack for it.
Now, after a long sidebar, I'll get to my point: as a fantasy author, it is impossible for me to write what I know. I have never personally encountered wendigo, or blemmyae, or thunderbirds. I haven't walked with Thor. I haven't spoken with Charon on a charming boat ride. I don't know the thrill of having fire dance on my fingertips - at least, not without including the agony of third degree burns in the description.
What that means is that I get to explore and research; learn about folklore, creatures of myth and legend, gods and ancient heroes. I get to do one of the most thrilling things that I have the privilege of doing as a writer. And I love it.
I also get to create. I've developed my own universe, my own Earth, an entire system of magic. An addendum to what I just said: I've developed my own multiverse, with numerous universe floating in its vast see of darkness and stars. I love it. I love the characters of my book, with whom I have developed a kind of odd relationship. My book deals with philosophy, with identity, with the nature of human existence. My book asks questions like "why?" and "what is evil?" and "can we find another way?" All of these are questions that I have thought about and am still searching for the answers to. I'm literally writing what I don't know and hoping that, through the process, answers can be found.
But I also write what I know. I know the humiliation of being dumped. I know the devastation of ending a relationship despite how much I want it to work; despite how much I feel like it should be working. I know the feeling of being heart broken, hovering in a darkness that cannot be described, as I watch the person I love move on. I know the feeling of finding someone new to love, deeply, and passionately, and comfortably. I know the feeling of nostalgia, but also of moving past that nostalgia.
I have experienced sudden, gut-wrenching and inexplicable loss. I have screamed and raged at God, asking Him why He took my loved one away too young. And I have experienced anger directed, irrationally, at the loved one I lost - as though it was somehow his fault. And then the guilt of knowing that that was not a righteous or realistic anger.
I have known despair. Fear, anxiety, obsession, and stubborn pride are not strangers to me.
These are the things I know, and I write about them. Every character I write knows these emotions and more. The world I have is a little different than the one I live in, but the characters are very real, and very human. Even the setting for most of the book is a real place.
I don't always write what I know, but I always write what I feel.
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