What makes the best writers? Is it perfect grammar? Is it having a way
with words? Is it being highly educated in the English language or whatever
language you write in? All of these
things help, but the answer is NO. What
makes the best writers? It is people who
write what they know and experience.
A good example would be Clive Cussler who writes
adventure stories surrounding History and water. He is an underwater archaeologist. Another example would be Jane Austen. Some people believe she wrote romance
stories. She did not. What she actually wrote was the shenanigans
of what went on in her everyday life.
There just so happened to be some romance involved in the nonsense that
went on in her circle of friends and family.
Hemingway wrote of his experiences around the world. That’s what makes his stories so compelling. Another example is Zane Gray who wrote about
cowboys and the West.
Of course there are exceptions to this rule. One would be the genre of science
fiction. This is stuff made up from
someone’s imagination. And boy, do some
people have an imagination. A good
example would be Frank Herbert who wrote the Dune Trilogy. The other genre would be fantasy. Again, people writing in this genre write
about things they have made up. A good
example for a fantasy writer would be Hans Christian Anderson.
So, what am I telling you? It’s simple.
If you are writing a medical novel then you should know something about
the medical field and then use your experiences while working in medicine. You want to write novels set in the West and
you’ve never been, then go visit.
Phyllis A. Whitney did just that.
She wanted to set a book in a certain city or country she would go and
live there for six months. She would get
the feel of the place, get maps, and walk everywhere. Her daughter would go with her and be her
secretary. She wrote at least one book a
year from 1947 to 1994, totally more than 60 novels. Her last novel was published when she was in
her 90s.
But on the other hand, if you want to write a novel
that involves murder, DO NOT become a murderer.
Read a lot on local murders in your area, talk with a detective and read
books by others who write murder novels.
This is one area where I will tell you, you do not need experience in,
in order to write about it.
The next thing you need to do is to buy a small
notebook with lined paper and an elastic band that keeps it closed. That way the pages don’t get mangled. Keep it in your purse or your backpack or in
your pocket. When you see something or
hear something or experience something, you can write it down. You don’t have to write it down exactly how
it happened, just the gist of it.
Sometimes when writing, you’re not sure of what your character is to do
next. That is when you can open your
notebook and start reading about what you've seen, heard and done. You may find exactly what you need.
Also, along with a journal in your purse or pocket,
you should keep a notebook and pen/pencil next to your bed. That way, when you wake from a dream, you can
write it down before it disappears. Keep
that paper handy.
So, you now have experiences or you have done your
research, what should you do? You write
your book of course. I like to write
down my character names and a bio on them.
Almost all of my characters will get both a first and last name. Not all of the last names will appear in my
story, but having a last name sort of completes my character. Some people like to sit and just write
whatever comes into their head. Some
people like to outline everything before they write. That is completely up to you. But write what you know or what you have done
a good research job on and use your daily experiences in your writing.
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