“Writing what you know” is a great place to start. For me, personally, it’s not a great place to stay. I like to write about giant robots, enchanted swords, and psychedelic blends of magic and machines. I’ve never had experience with any of those things.
I’d rather write about what I resonate with, in full defiance of my limited experience, and shamelessly honor my imagination. (Which, if existence is infinite, may be portraying events in some other when, some other where, as a crystallized iteration of boundless possibility).
I love this. Do not be constrained by the familiar or lulled into something mundane because it is comfortable. Continue to be shamelessly imaginative 🙂
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Absolutely! Sometimes, the familiar can stifle joy.
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Kent, it makes perfect sense to me. I’ve done the same except from the perspective of a magical cat named Aloysius. ~Nan
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Great name for a cat!
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Thanks! My editor tried to talk me out of it, but I was adamant! I put in a pronunciation guide on the name though. ~Nan
PS. My current cat’s name is Regulus (Reggie for short)!
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Ooh Regulus is cool too! Sounds like a star system! 😁
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Actually it a Harry Potter reference to Regulus Arcturus Black (Sirius Black’s brother).
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I see. Gotcha!
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I wholeheartedly agree with what you’re saying. In my experience, writing what I know is boring. I am happiest writing about mysterious murders, anti-heroes who shoot bad guys without consequences, private detectives solving murders and villains being villainous.
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What’s the point of having a mind if you don’t let it go exploring?
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Of course, since the topic is writing, where is the line between “exploring” and “inventing”? It feels like the conscious mind exploring the subconscious.
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That’s a pretty good way to put it! Opens the door into Campbell and Jung.
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I enjoy writing alternative histories because then even if I can’t get an agent interested in the book, at least I’ve read a lot of history books as research.
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