WOW! Women On Writing Blog: On Writing

Why I Started Writing What I Enjoyed Instead of What I Knew

Saturday, July 21, 2018

We all know the advice, "Write what you know." It isn't my favorite piece of advice, although recently I have learned to understand it better. I have learned that it's not just about writing about all those real life moments you have lived through, but it's also about emotions. We've all known sadness, fear, disappointment, love, and so many other emotions that inspire the characters we write and the stories we tell.

But for me lately, even that new level of understanding feels crippling. Whether I try to write what I know or what I feel, lately I just feel stuck. In the midst of an extremely stressful time, I prefer to escape into writing and frankly, writing from those raw places sometimes hurts.

I've started approaching my writing in a completely different way these days. Instead of writing what I know or what I feel, I'm writing what I enjoy. I'm finally smiling as I write. I'm laughing to myself as I write out the scenes. This has made writing fun again. I feel like I'm a kid playing pretend all over again.

Will this story get published? Who knows. I'm not even thinking about it yet. Honestly, I'm just glad I'm enjoying writing again. Like, really enjoying it.

Have you ever felt stuck in your writing? Maybe you are beginning to hate that novel you are working on, or the article you are trying to piece together, or that short story that can't seem to get an ending. If that sounds like you, put that piece of writing aside. For now, write something you enjoy. You may not figure out what that is yet, but I encourage you to keep looking and trying out new ways to write. Try poetry. Try scriptwriting. Try a memoir. Try something you've never written before. Try something silly or something terrifying. Write what you enjoy. Write what you would want to read.

This approach may not result into a bestselling novel. In fact, it may not be read by anyone but you. Yet, I'm a strong believer that exercising that muscle of enjoying our creative work is just as important as exercising the muscle of discipline that sits us down in the chair. Both go together. Once I've begun to enjoy writing again, maybe I can finally figure out how to apply that age old advice of 'write what you know (or feel)." And who knows? Maybe that story I am enjoying will end up a bestseller after all.

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Is It Too Serious for Middle-Grade?

Saturday, June 27, 2015

In the young adult and middle-grade children's writing course that I teach for WOW!, one of my students recently asked if the plot she was planning for her middle-grade historical fiction novel was too grim for the age of the audience. I told her no, it wasn't, and she had a great idea. I can't share her idea with you on The Muffin, but I can give a few tips if you ever find yourself thinking about writing a book for a younger audience.

1. You can deal with heavy subjects, but sometimes these are not happening to the main character. Especially in historical fiction books where the history is known (such as Nazi concentration camps or slavery in the United States), you don't want to ignore these grim historical happenings. But you can either tone down the reality, or minor characters can have the tougher role. The main character is not the slave or the refugee, for example.

In my middle-grade novel, Finding My Place, the main character Anna has a lot of tragedy happen during the book, set in 1863 in Vicksburg, MS--her ma dies; her pa is at war; her family has to live in a cave while the city is being shelled. But all in all, these things are happening around her. She is affected by them; but for example, she does not get wounded by a shell. She is not a slave.

Kids are smart, so you can't pretend like real life can not be terrible, but you can tone it down.

2. Life can be grim. It has been. But it can also be comical and happy.
The other thing you can do is put in some lighthearted scenes or a funny character. Your main character can also be funny at times. Look at the middle-grade novel, Holes. Again, this deals with some heavy subjects--basically children being driven to work under terrible conditions at a juvenile detention camp. But parts of the book are comical. I mean even the main character's name--Stanley Yelnats is a bit silly. If Louis Sachar would have made everything about this book as emotional or heavy as the topic could be, the book might not have been as popular with the middle-grade audience. Most children's movies have a character that is for comic relief--Olaf in Frozen or Eddie Murphy's dragon in Mulan. It works. So think about adding a little comedy in the midst of the tragedy.

3. Read other authors and see how they do it.
If you still aren't sure what to do, take Stephen King's advice from his book, On Writing: "You have to read widely, constantly refining (and redefining) your own work as you do so. If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” Talk to a librarian; read middle-grade reading blogs; check out state recommended reading lists--there are ways to find books that deal with grim subjects, and figure out how these successful authors deal with a young audience but a serious subject. Learn from them, and then transfer these ideas to your own work.

So have you ever read a book for 12 or under with a serious subject? How did you feel the author handled this problem? Are you facing this in your own writing? We'd love to hear about your experiences.

Margo L. Dill is the author of three books for children and teaches novel and children's writing courses for WOW! Check out more about Margo at http://www.margodill.com .