Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Beyond What We Know.

As writers we are expected to write what we know and what we do not know. Think about it, everything our characters have gone through or will go through, have we gone through it? Not always.

So how we do write what we have never experienced?
How do we know how they feel if we have never felt what they feel?
How can we create what we have never seen?

The mind is a powerful tool, one that can do exactly this... Create.
Now sometimes we write what we do know, we feed off of emotions we have felt or feel, which leads to a very heartfelt piece, which is wonderful indeed.

It just amazes me how writers can write something that they have never seen, experienced, or heard.

How we escape this world, ourselves and everything normal and dive into a place created by our imagination and our deepest inner-selves is something special that we should all cherish and love.

For Diamar27!

Don't be afraid to see beyond this world.

13 comments:

Frankie Diane Mallis said...

Very nice post and yes, could you imagine if we only wrote what we knew and experienced? Books would be soooo boring. But even in events and experiences we write about that we have no knowledge of, we usually are able to infuse an element of truth into it.

Mary E Campbell said...

Beautiful post as always. I'm writing in a world that I know nothing about and it's exciting and frustrating at the same time. I have notebooks full of info about this world and stacks of books that I'm studying to help me know the world. I think I enjoy the studying more than the actual writing sometimes though. It's not easy to write what you don't know, but it's what keeps me interested in other people's stories as well as my own.

LittoMiss isuet said...

wise words vicky !
reminds me of one of the quotes from todays class. I guess you liked it huh? (:

love youuuu. running tomorrow?
let me know.

Stephanie Thornton said...

Research. Lots and lots of research. I find it's also possible to think of a similar experience to recreate emotions for my characters. Sometimes it works better than others.

Jade @ Chasing Empty Pavements said...

ooh I loved this post.. you always have such thoughtful posts.

Katie Ganshert said...

In her book, Getting into Character, Brandilyn Collins addresses this. As far as emotion and getting it right. I might never have had to take my husband off life support (something I write about in my novel), but I have experienced loss and uncertaninty (to a much much much lesser degree). I can take that morsel of feeling and use it to write truth on my page.

Kimberly Franklin said...

Great post and advice. The mind and imaginiation is such a wonderful tool.

Plus, what a beautiful picture. You always post the prettiest pictures! : )

I like to think I have a good imagination, but I know mine needs some work still. It amazes me to read what others write and see how their imaginiation creates the unknown. : )

Bish Denham said...

Ah yes, the imagination is a powerful thing.

The romantic query letter and the happy-ever-after said...

A brilliant observation. I'm digging the way you view your craft.
Warm regards,
Simone.

Angie said...

Hooray for our imaginations, because I would hate to go through some of the things my characters go through. Great, thoughtful post!

Tana said...

Part of why I write is to see where my imagination will take me. I love this post!

BK Mattingly said...

If I only wrote what I know. I wouldn't have three WIP's. All of them have some sort of magic in them and I haven't seen magic, at least not the kind I write about. :) Great post!

Hayley Lovell said...

That was a very good post, very insightful. I loved it, and it's so true half the stuff I write about I've never expirienced, this was just a great piece.