Credibility

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Credibility

Sooner or later in your journey as a writer, you’re going to encounter the phrase, “Write what you know.” Your reaction can be one of frustration and despair, setting you to wailing, “Nothing interesting ever happens to me! ” Or, you can take the phrase as something that goes without saying, that of course, everything you write will come down to something you know and think.

You will encounter those who think ‘writing what you know,’ means leaving out fantasy. They’ll say, ‘well, there aren’t any fairies; you can’t write about them.” They’ll tell you that you can’t write a boy’s tale because ‘you’re only a girl.” Or, “don’t be a sissy and write like a girl.” You’ll find those who think there’s no way you can write about Africans because you live in the USA and know nothing of Africa. And forget even thinking about writing about BEMs(bug-eyed monsters). There is no such thing.

Most writers end up discarding the purists who want to limit what we write to what we directly know. We instinctively realize writing is about dreams and about trying to find answers to the biggest questions in life: ‘Why are we here?’ ‘Can we put an end to hurt and evil?’ and ‘Why do I bother sticking around?’ We do not limit ourselves by sticking to who we personally are and what we directly experience.

As long as the writer writes only for themself, as long as their stories stay in the realm of daydreams, then they are free to imagine anything they want and express themselves in any fashion. No one cares about their handwriting, their grammar and punctuation, and no one cares about their facts. But as soon as the writer’s desire to tell a story increases to wanting to entertain or instruct others, then the conflict begins. A writer does not live in a vacuum; they live in a world with other knowledgeable people and with everyone’s expectations. To be able to reach an audience, to be able to entertain them, their story must contain enough truth about everyday matters, that the reader doesn’t throw the story down in a huff saying, “This writer doesn’t know what they’re talking about!”

I am a reader that finds it easy to immerse herself in a well-told tale. Give me vivid characters and an adventure and I’m happy. However, I am also a skeptical reader. Even after reading a well-told tale, I entertain myself by asking if everything in the tale makes sense. Whoa to the tale that contains so many factual errors and isn’t so well told. At this point, I probably won’t even continue reading or watching, or, if I do read to the end, I toss the book down and say, “That was a waste of time!”

Aside from the usual story telling techniques, how does the writer satisfy the need of the reader for veracity and interest – if the writer isn’t writing about something they have great knowledge and experience (and even if they do)? The answer is simple: Research, research, research and read, read, read.

How do you research? Let me count the ways…. The most obvious answer is to look up the subject in an encyclopedia or do a web search. Next on your list are local and university libraries. Take the time to dig into your subject. Make friends with your reference librarian. Many libraries subscribe to internet information or electronic magazines that may contain some piece of information you may need. Your reference librarian can be invaluable in helping you figure out both what the library has and how to get to an answer you want. Most libraries have some sort of interlibrary exchange system. The librarian will be able to assist you in getting hold of books the library doesn’t directly carry.

Your research can expand to magazines, newspapers, films, and recordings. Sometimes the library may contain or know of original source documents containing information you wish to research or verify. If you are writing anything historical, even if you are writing fantasy based on a pre-modern world, I encourage you to go to books written in that time frame. Don’t stick with textbooks or even later tales of the time frame. For example, don’t read Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind. and think you’ve captured the essence of the Civil War. Go back to books, newspapers, and journals written around the time of the Civil War. You will have a much better chance of sounding like you know what you’re talking about.

Another source of information is people! Your entire community holds a wealth of knowledge and experience. I’m starting to write a novel set in medieval times. Aside from the books, textbooks, and internet sites I’m researching, I am going to ask a local university history professor questions and ask them to read what I write for their impression of historical accuracy. All they can do is say no. I want to know exactly what it is like to be theater major. I’ll check out the same university to see if a theater major would enjoy being interviewed by me. Asking around may open more avenues of written sources. The local library may know of people interested or knowledgeable about certain topics. The library may have books listing local groups or societies. Check your phone book. In my research about medieval times, I know about the local Society of Creative Anachronism. A phone call to that organization could give me more information about historical reenactments. I mentioned to a co-worker I was interested in seeing how people used to do things and was referred to another historical society that gave community classes.

I suggest keeping an eye open for knowledgeable people in every group you belong to. Start with your family. You’ll be surprised what your uncle might know. Or perhaps they may know someone who knows about what you are writing about. I’m sure your church contains valuable people resources. And if you don’t belong to a church, do you take classes? You never know what your fellow students or their parents may know. I took a writing class and have access to a local sportswriter. I intend to call her if I want to interview a hockey player and see if she can introduce me to one. Every single group you belong to, whether they are a civic organization or a group centered around a special interest, contains people who may have knowledge about a subject or who may know someone who does.

If you are an older person writing about teens, be sure you keep touch with teenagers, both in your family and in the community. If you are a teen, make sure you know the elderly and what they face, before tackling writing a story from their perspective. Visit a nursing home and make friends with someone if you’re interested in credibly writing about old age and have no closer source, or even if you do. If you want to write about war, find someone who’s been there. I suspect every community can give you access to someone who has been to Iraq in the Gulf Wars. You may not be able to personally meet these people, but the telephone and email are great ways to give interviews and gain a subject matter expert to read your story and verify your facts. These people may be able to give you those extra little details, which takes your story from ordinary to extraordinary.

Keep your eyes open for opportunities to experience something different. You’re a city gal/guy and want to write a story based in the wilderness? No problem, go camping. If you find you hate camping, you probably shouldn’t be writing about living in the wild, unless your story’s point is how miserable your character is in that place. The reverse is true. Want to write about a city? Go visit one! You can even do a pretty good job of faking expert knowledge of an ancient city by transferring your experience in a modern city and extrapolating backward, minus the modern stuff. Much of the experience of visiting a place larger and more chaotic than you’re used to, is easily reproduced.

Be aware of relying too much on TV and movies. I liked the advice of one costume designer. He said he would rely on movies as his last resource, and only if he couldn’t find any other source depicting the timeframe and costume he was interested in. He said if the production team of the movie made any error, he would be perpetuating that error. Most movies are all about entertainment and very little about the truth. You risk getting a great deal incorrect if you rely too much on the visual media.

There is value in TV or movies if you don’t necessarily need historical or actual reality. I’ve long wanted to record certain fight sequences that are filmed and choreographed well. I know the sequences aren’t the whole truth. They still have people fighting and not realistically getting hurt. However, these sequences, combined with my own personal lessons (however brief) in karate and judo, help me to vividly describe a fight scene. I would just as soon not personally observe or participate in a real barroom fight. I may be able to watch real fight sequences on the news, but again, perhaps I would just as soon stick to a semblance or “good enough” imitation rather than the real thing. I don’t want to describe every gory detail in the first place, thus having knowledge of all the details isn’t necessary.

Always keep a healthy sense of skepticism when reading or watching anything. You will encounter common stereotypes, which can get real boring to your readers in a real hurry. A little bit of stereotypes can free you from re-inventing everything. But go back to what you are trying to say. What is your story? What do you have to say that is different from everyone else?

I do ask every writer to read. You are a storyteller in a long continuim of storytellers. You do have to meet some expectations of your reader or you will be rejected. Despite my caveat of stereotypes, there are standards in every genre you are expected to meet. Nothing irritates a science fiction writer more than encountering a story called such and isn’t based on scientific extrapolation from now. Don’t write a romance story where the couple doesn’t end up together at the end. Don’t write a fantasy where nothing is the least bit different from what you encounter every day.

On Writing.Com, I’ve challenged a number of people about the facts in their story. Once, I wasn’t the least bit certain about nine-year-olds having strong sexual feelings. I asked the author about that one and was told that he had these feelings. However, he hadn’t presented the story as autobiographical. I advised him if he wanted to present his work as fiction, he might want to age his characters to a more conventional age of such desires. Other times I had more reason to disbelieve the author. I challenged one story based on the Gulf War 2 and centered around a battle in the desert, because the newspapers said most fighting happened in the cities. The author wrote back and reminded me some fighting happened in the desert. I advised the author to do a bit more research and put in some solid details so I, the reader, wouldn’t get stuck on this one minor detail of the story. Plus, a few solid details of the story’s place always increase its power.

I find that sexual situations and suicide are emotional enough topics, I am going to be particularly wary in believing the author. I know writers use writing to do personal therapy and exploration. I just don’t want to read it if that is where the story stops. I’ve encountered enough examples of unbelievable scenarios to give two don’ts in writing.

1. If you’re someone that knows nothing about sex, don’t write about it. If you’re a young teen and try writing as someone who “knows all about it,” trust me, you will sound as if you know nothing. You can write about sex, just don’t pretend you know something you don’t. Write from your perspective of confusion and searching and you’ll be true to your calling as an author.

2. I find there are too many stories where suicide is the answer to all problems. Yes, stories can be used to work through the pain of having someone you know commit suicide. A writer can write a good story to explore some of their own emotional problems. However, it takes skill to write a story that soars above the usual teenage angst that everything is so terrible, I might as well die. If you must write a story about suicide before maturing as an author, keep it to yourself. Think about it. If suicide were such the answer, there would be no one left to tell or hear any stories. Now, if you write about the effects of suicide of a peripheral character than your character, that's something different.

In the end, you will not escape from writing what you know. You will imbue your stories with your emotions and your experiences. Get out there and increase your experiences in every way you can figure out without breaking laws or moral imperatives. Once I wrote a story about a mother fixing her little girl’s hair. I knew about mothers, girls, and hair. I grew up as the oldest of four girls where all of us had long hair. Braiding and fixing hair was something deep in my psyche. I did, however, make one little mistake. I’m Caucasian. If hair needs smoothed down, you use water. In my story, the little girl was black. I showed the story to a black friend and was quickly corrected that you do not use water in the same way for the hair of black children. I will either take that detail out of the story, or I’ll make it my business to ask a black mother to teach me how you fix a little black girl’s hair. A writer’s research is never done. It’s called living and learning.