I remember my English teacher telling me, ‘Write what you know’. That message was reiterated when I completed my Master’s degree in Writing. I get how valid that statement must be if you’re writing non-fiction, because you need to be an expert in your field. But for fiction? The very nature of it relies on our imaginations. Fiction is made-up. I am not a psycho serial-killer, despite writing books that invariably feature a murder. I am not unhinged (although some of my friends might dispute that!) and I don’t relentlessly seek out revenge. In fact, I work hard to do the opposite, practising gratitude which isn’t hard for me to feel, as I am genuinely grateful not only to be alive, but to be living where I live and working my dream job.
So let’s unpick this ‘write what you know’ a little more. Of course all successful authors need to bring authenticity to their writing. If you’re creating a sci-fi fictionalised world or writing about a serial killer, how do you achieve that authenticity? In my opinion it’s all about connecting on an emotional level. Your readers need to engage with your characters; you need to make your readers feel emotions – whether that’s fear or hope, excitement or wonder. The emotional journey is what will make your writing engaging. And that means tapping into your own emotions. Think about how you feel in the imaginary situations you’re placing your characters in. And a single-word emotion isn’t sufficient. If you sense wonder, where do you feel it in your body? What does it smell like, taste like? What does that wonder make you want to do? Think of a time when you tapped into your inner child and felt that pure amazement.
If you’re writing crime fiction or thrillers, think of when you felt genuine fear. Sure, it’s uncomfortable tapping into that emotion, but if you can’t feel it, how can you describe it to your readers? I have a lot of fears and I’ve explored many of my own feelings to create the structure for my novels. For instance, in The Arrangement, my main character is the mother of a young university-attending woman who goes missing and is subsequently found dead. At that time, my daughter was studying on the other side of the world. I was a paranoid mother! Fatal car crashes have featured in several of my books; most notably in The Concierge. Tragically, I lost my best friend in a car crash at the age of twenty-three. It’s taken me decades to be able to write about it, but I certainly understand the emotions around losing someone you love in such a shocking way at such a young age.
I’m not saying you need to suffer in order to be a good writer, but I certainly think it’s easier if you’ve had life experiences to tap into. On occasion, I’ve been asked to talk at schools, encouraging young people to pursue their dreams of being an author. Instead, I encourage the young people to take up a career that involves writing, working on their novels on the side. I think it’s disingenuous to assume that a young person can easily become a full-time writer. There are of course young authors such as Sally Rooney who buck the rules, but if you look at the most successful genre authors today, many of them are in their middle years. They have a lot of emotional experience to tap into.
This shouldn’t put you off if you’re younger because one of the joys of writing fiction is the fact you can go wild with your imagination. But let’s come back to that statement of ‘write what you know’. Even if you have experienced nothing similar to your characters, I guarantee you will have experienced some of their emotions. It’s those feelings you need to focus on and tap into. And with it, you’ll bring realism and authenticity to your characters.