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Why You Haven't Already Written 2,412 Booksby Henry Don’t “Write what you know.” First, because it’s one of the most abused clichés for writers. Second, it’s a creativity killer. Some teachers and friends will tell you that you already have enough knowledge and experience to write a dozen books. Maybe a hundred books! Maybe A Million Books!! ...maybe not. I'm sure you know enough junk to write a million books, but seriously, no one wants to read a million books about your weekly work schedule, or how you brush your teeth. The real problem is that what you know isn't always what other people need to know. Like it or not, most of your experiences are shared by the people who will read your book. They already know what it's like to fall in love, break up, have a father/mother die, or do any one of the equally boring tasks that we mindlessly walk through everyday. You might be able to take your life's story and turn it into one book, but you'd have to find an angle for it. You'd have to put some spin on your life.Luckily, there is a lot of stuff that people want to know about that you can put in your life’s story. Live AdventurouslyThat means go out and have adventures. You may be thinking, “I’d love to have more adventures in my life.” Then why aren’t you having them? Because as Bilbo Baggins observed, “Adventures make one late for dinner.”Having adventures doesn’t mean you have to climb a mountain or fight a mythical creature. It means that you have to get outside your comfort zone and put yourself in new situations. Live UncomfortablyIt can be any situation that removes you from your ordinary world. Volunteer in a homeless shelter.Visit a hospital where you don’t know the patients. Walk through an impoverished neighborhood. Better than all of it- Travel. Travel shows you things you would never have imagined and allows you to imagine more things that you’ve never seen. Henry Miller said, “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” And that brings back us “Write what you know.” It doesn’t work. Write What You Don’t KnowIt’s what makes the writing and reading interesting. If you find that you have to do a lot of research, a lot of reading, and a lot of… well, adventuring, then you know you’re on to something. Get a library card and a passport. They’ll be the most useful tools you have. |
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