Write What You Know.

By Jonene Ficklin


How many times have you heard that? A bazillion times? Yeah, me too.

Problem is, the things I know may not be interesting to the general population.

For instance, I know just how to get each of my kids up in the morning.

Grade-schooler: Pull out of bed by the feet, zombie-walk him to the bathroom, push inside, turn on the light and shut the door. He figures it out from there.

Junior-higher: Say his name until he answers. Make sure his eyes are open. Stay until his feet hit the floor. Make sure he doesn't trip over the book he was reading that fell on the floor. (Yes! Gotta love it!)

High-schooler: Turn light on. Pull covers off. Wait for the howl, then carefully back away.

I also know how to stay calm when one of my kids spills pop on the carpet. Again. Not saying I do, but I know how.

Anyway, you get the picture. I'm a mom. I know mom stuff. But do you want to read about it all the time. No!

All right, I know a little art stuff too, but I don't know everything. So my quandary is, how do I write what I know and still make a marketable story?

The September 2010 edition of Writer's Digest said this:

"Write what you know" means to write what you see differently, feel profoundly and know what is important for the rest of us to get. You don't need to have lived an extraordinary life or have a unique subject. You need only an original outlook and a fresh purpose for writing.

Hey, you can alway research what you don't know. But you can't fake what's in your heart. Say what matters. That's writing you want to know.

As far as researching, that is SO much fun! I love surfing the internet, checking out twenty books at a time from the library and watching the librarian's face as I do. (Okay, I'm exaggerating - but not by much.) And most of all, I love interviewing people.

I'll bet you know some interesting stuff - like the fine art of sword-making (even having watched it counts), how to make a killer flambe, where the best restaurant in Seattle is, how to get rid of snails in my garden, or how to sing Mary Had a Little Lamb backwards.

You have tried something I haven't and I'm eager to learn more!

So go ahead, write what you know . . . and then some. Remember, liars are welcome here. After all, isn't that what an imagination is for?