Many people use "Write what you know" to kill racial and sexual diversity in literature. I like your take much better. I love that you pointed out that all of our fiction starts with something true.
There are definitely some complex conversations to be had around writing what you know, appropriation, and whose stories we have the knowledge/experience to tell. But I also think a lot of writing ‘rules’ become super reductive in soundbyte form, which naturally creates more opposition than nuance.
My interpretation is (hopefully) more at a ground level, concerning itself with the tiny details and moments of shared humanity before we even get to those bigger conversations… And I think once you approach WWYK from that bottom-up angle, the rest of it becomes clearer from an individual perspective, i.e. what feels right and true for YOU to write.
Love this! Was just chatting to a fellow literature lover (not sure if she's a writer too) and we were lamenting over a ridiculous book we both read (and will never get that time back) where the male writer had written many sex scenes from the pov of his female protagonist. It was brutally and painfully obvious he had NO experience of what sex was like for a woman and that he hadn't asked a woman, read another woman's experience of sex, or even watched a film directed by a woman that had even a kissing scene in it. It was so appallingly bad I felt like calling him and yelling at him. I feel this is a perfect example of sticking to writing what you know!
Oh JEEZ yeah that's a doozy. And the thing is, it doesn't mean we have to steer completely clear of unknown topics or experiences — but you gotta start from some place of knowledge! And/or do your research... ahem.
Yes. We both agreed he could have spoken to a woman at least… to get a little bit of feedback. The scary thing is his books are being made into a tv series 😬 let’s hope the director is a woman!
I can see my writing (and how I feel about writing!) benefitting from your class. Just in case something comes up, how long will the recording be available?
Many people use "Write what you know" to kill racial and sexual diversity in literature. I like your take much better. I love that you pointed out that all of our fiction starts with something true.
There are definitely some complex conversations to be had around writing what you know, appropriation, and whose stories we have the knowledge/experience to tell. But I also think a lot of writing ‘rules’ become super reductive in soundbyte form, which naturally creates more opposition than nuance.
My interpretation is (hopefully) more at a ground level, concerning itself with the tiny details and moments of shared humanity before we even get to those bigger conversations… And I think once you approach WWYK from that bottom-up angle, the rest of it becomes clearer from an individual perspective, i.e. what feels right and true for YOU to write.
Love this! Was just chatting to a fellow literature lover (not sure if she's a writer too) and we were lamenting over a ridiculous book we both read (and will never get that time back) where the male writer had written many sex scenes from the pov of his female protagonist. It was brutally and painfully obvious he had NO experience of what sex was like for a woman and that he hadn't asked a woman, read another woman's experience of sex, or even watched a film directed by a woman that had even a kissing scene in it. It was so appallingly bad I felt like calling him and yelling at him. I feel this is a perfect example of sticking to writing what you know!
Oh JEEZ yeah that's a doozy. And the thing is, it doesn't mean we have to steer completely clear of unknown topics or experiences — but you gotta start from some place of knowledge! And/or do your research... ahem.
Yes. We both agreed he could have spoken to a woman at least… to get a little bit of feedback. The scary thing is his books are being made into a tv series 😬 let’s hope the director is a woman!
Fingers crossed there's more input there... I think you can always tell the difference when a sex scene is directed by a woman or a man, for sure!
So much of this resonates, thank you. And yes please to a place on the course …
Yay! Will hopefully have the full details/link soon... And *another* workshop in the works as well!
I can see my writing (and how I feel about writing!) benefitting from your class. Just in case something comes up, how long will the recording be available?
Wonderful! The recording will be sent out to you the day after the workshop so it should be available for as long as you need. :)
Love this post! Thanks, Jo!