Guest Post by Melissa Wolff

They say write what you know. That’s the number one piece of advice I’ve heard many experienced authors give to the less experienced authors. Write what you know and you’ll come up with a decent plot/manuscript. It seems pretty logical, I’ll admit to that, but pretty boring too. I have written four young adult novel and I have about five plots that I have had developed to write (at least five, really…more like ten or so). Some of them are young adult and then others are new adult. There are romances, mysteries, crime…

Now if I had stuck with the concept of ‘write what you know’ then I wouldn’t write most of these plots. I don’t like the concept of ‘write what you know’ because I feel like that sticks writers in little boxes. It sections them off and tells them that they can only write about certain topics/subjects/ideas. Where’s the creativity in that? I’ll tell you…there is none. If people write what they knew, they wouldn’t be any sci-fi books around, or fantasy, or anything that is created based on imagination. We would be stuck with romances, history, crime, maybe even horror. But only four genres? That’s no fun!

 

I think that they should change it from ‘write what you know’ to ‘write what intrigues you’. You want to write about aliens? Go at it! Serial killers keep you up at night? Create one of your own and let your hero take him down. Not only does it make it more interesting, but it lets your brain muscles work harder, thinking harder, and play harder. There’s nothing better than wracking your brain to put two things together. Isn’t that what the brain tests do? They test your brain to keep it sharp by making it solve problems. What makes anyone think that they can’t do that by writing too?

 

The whole reason people start writing (aside form the idea that they are driven to write…that they can’t live without writing) is to answer the burning questions that they have. To bring some sense into their ideas and thoughts. To create something that will live long after they are gone…to leave their mark on the world and the people in it.

 

Not just anyone can create people, places, situations, or even worlds. Why limit the people who can do those things?

 

So forget writing what you know. Write what you want to know.

About the Author:
Melissa Wolff was born and raised on Long Island. She has written and independently published four young adult novels. She has written for LIB Magazine, Patch.com, and the Post Pioneer. She is a member of the International Women's Writing Guild and the National Writer's Association.