There’s this famous piece of writing advice that goes: ‘Write what you know’. I don’t think I’ve ever followed this piece of advice in anything I’ve ever written. Instead of sticking to the subjects I have personal experiences with, I love writing about rebellions, people in exile, people who have lost their friends and families and homes, secret agents, magic, and so many other things. I love, love, love these sorts of topics and books, and in most cases, a bit of imagination is all I need to write these things successfully. For the rest, doing a bit of research is usually enough to help me out. I think most writers are the same.
However, in some cases there are definite benefits to writing from personal experience. For example, in my new book Frost Hands, I have a whole chapter set inside a cafe. One of the two main characters, Nicola, is posing as a waitress in order to spy on a secret meeting. My day job is waitressing, so while writing this character I was able to draw very heavily on my own personal experience to make events as convincing and accurate as possible. Plus, it was just awesome fun to be able to add a little something from my own personal life.
As a waitress myself, I had the definite advantage that I knew how a cafe actually runs. As this was a surveillance mission, I could also figure out what sort of troubles Nicola might face in trying to spy on people. And I also knew just how frustrating she might find the whole situation, especially if she ended up working with someone who really wasn’t interested in being there that day. I could have researched and spoken to other people in the industry to nail this scene, but it was easier to be sure that everything was correct and authentic, because it’s literally my job to know these things.
It also gave me a chance to have a bit of fun. Unlike me, Nicola doesn’t like being a waitress, no matter how good she is at it. I can poke a little bit of fun at the job and the stereotypes, and some of the things that just strike me as silly or funny, like cafes that take their themed decor way too seriously. It’s so much fun to play around with someone else’s views on the job I do every day, and to explore some of the fun or silly things that I experience and notice.
My favourite part though, is having the chance to inject a bit of fun and adventure into something that I experience regularly, and to be able to present a cohesive and authentic scene to my readers. In this case especially, it was nice to be able to make something a little special out of a job that I do every day. I love my job waitressing, but certainly it’s not nearly as exciting as being a secret agent on the job tracking down criminals, so it was just fun to bring a little bit of that world into my own world, and play around with the opportunities that presents.
I don’t believe that you necessarily have to write what you know and have experienced. Great books are written all the time about things that people haven’t been through before. But there are also definite benefits to writing from your own life experiences. Not only does it make it easier to write authentically, but it can also be incredibly fun at the same time. And for me, enjoying what I’m writing is absolutely crucial to making a story that I can be proud of and that I can share with other people.
Before I close out, I just want to remind you that my new book Frost Hands is out now! If you’d like to see the scene I refer to and quote from for yourself then head on over to Amazon and pick up a copy today. It’s available in both print and ebook, to suit all kinds of readers. And while you’re at it, why not add Frost Hands on Goodreads and show it some love over there?
Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash
