Write what you know. Really? - Lisa Hall-Wilson

That seemingly age-old writing advice used to grate on me. I wasn’t interested in writing what I knew about. How boring would that be? I’ve never been a male firefighter (yes, I have a penchant for romance), an FBI special agent (I’ve delved into suspense), an Amazon warrior (how boring would life be without fantasy) or been chased by a serial killer (I’m also a big horror fan). I’d be relegated to the mommy-lit section, or the not-so-desperate housewife literary novel section, and that just doesn’t put the sugar in my candy.

There’s more wisdom to this piece of advice than at first glance, but it took several years for me to stop fighting it. This isn’t a box I’m being forced into, but the safety lines that keep me from hitting author-rock-bottom. And I’m still learning more layers to this piece of wisdom, so my first tip is not to dismiss this out of hand as I first thought to do.

Societies, languages, technology, scientific discovery – these are all things that can evolve, change and grow. Human emotions don’t. The degree to which we experience that range of emotions varies from person to person, the situations that can cause those emotions may differ, but the basic emotional wringer we go through is the same one Noah and Moses went through.

These two verses really opened my eyes to the truth found in the “Write What You Know” advice.

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven” (Eccl. 3:1 NLT).

“History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new” (Eccl. 3:9 NLT).

In listening to Ted Dekker’s continuing class CDs from Write! Canada (you knew you could buy CD’s of most of the sessions, right?), I was surprised to hear Ted say, “You can’t write what you don’t know.”

Ted writes fantasy, thrillers, and what he calls storyteller books (with a couple of non-fiction books in there too). Here’s a snippet from his talk:

“You can’t write what you don’t know. If you do, people won’t buy your characters…Generally speaking, we write out of our experiences. Whatever that pool of experiences is…

“I find areas to write about that I’ve never been in myself, and that allows me to step out of my own context and see things with fresh eyes. Do you know heartbreak? You can’t write about heartbreak until your heart has been broken…Don’t write about what you don’t know about.”  

Every character I write, is me. If I want my characters to reach out of the book and grab the reader by the throat or the heart, they have to be motivated by an emotion I’ve experienced. Every year longer I live, I find more depth to the emotions I can write about.

A teen being forced to choose between parents in a divorce. I’ve never lived this, but I know what it’s like to desperately want to avoid hurting someone I love, or disappointing someone I love. I know what it’s like to feel like I lose no matter what choice I make.

A firefighter who’s discovered his wife is in an adulterous relationship. This isn’t something I’ve lived out, but I understand being blindsided by betrayal. I understand the singular focus of just putting one foot in front of the other because I just don’t know what else to do.

A battered mother finally makes a choice to leave an abusive husband. I understand what it’s like to talk yourself into and out of a decision a thousand times. I understand doing something for the sake of someone you love, because you wouldn’t do it just for yourself.

Dig down into the very root emotions motivating your characters, and find some common ground. Once you do that, the degree to which you experienced those emotions becomes irrelevant. Once you have common ground, once that character becomes you - you can write from their perspective. 

Writing this way is hard, not gonna lie. You have to relive some things that will be painful, bittersweet, and difficult -- but so what. Pouring that reality into your characters brings them to life. This is the job of a writer. It will cause your readers to laugh, cry, pull the blanket closer, sleep with the light on. And aren't those the best kinds of books?

Go ahead and try this! It’ll change your writing.

Lisa Hall-Wilson is an award-winning freelance journalist and writer for the Canadian faith-based market. Lisa writes a syndicated interview column, blogs at www.LisaHallWilson.com, and spends way too much time on Facebook.

Ted Dekker Coming To Write! Canada - Lisa Hall-Wilson

Ted Dekker is a best-selling author known for his fast-paced, plot-twisting thrillers and fantasy novels. In every novel he works out his faith through his characters, and that authenticity is what seems to have created such a loyal readership for him.

Dekker’s father is Canadian, and Ted recently revealed he carries a Canadian passport and lives and works in the USA on a Green Card. He lived in Toronto for a short time, and attended Langley’s Trinity Western University for a year. “I’m a jungle boy. I’m standing at a bus stop [in Toronto in winter] and I’m shivering. It was so cold I thought I was in hell.”

Ted Dekker is coming to Write! Canada
 
Know what I love about Ted Dekker’s fiction? This→ “We Christian writers must paint evil with the blackest of brushes, not to sow fear, but to call out the monsters to be scattered by our light. If Satan cloaks himself as an angel of white, intent on deceiving the world, any attempt on our parts to minimize evil is only complicit with his strategy... Turn to the light; don’t fear the shadows it creates.” ~Ted Dekker, The Slumber of Christianity

I had the opportunity to chat with Ted last summer to help promote his Toronto event. Total fan-girl moment. Ted called me from his Austin, TX home. Here’s some highlights from that interview. 

If you’re on the fence about going to Write! Canada, even if you don’t like Dekker’s fiction, register now and get the early bird savings before April 1. Dekker knows how to craft a compelling story, weave a message of faith into the story, and is constantly pushing the envelope in terms of marketing and promotion – and he has some of the most loyal fans in the business.
 
LHW: Do you consider yourself a Christian writer?
 

Ted Dekker: Am I a Christian writer? [pauses] It’s just a label. What does it mean? I write stories as a person who grew up in a Christian faith to understand that faith. You can call me whatever you want. It’s just a name.
 
Every Christian writer’s conference I go to, I hear someone say: But Ted Dekker can write stuff like this and get published, why can’t I? So I asked Ted: Who is it you’re writing for?
 
Ted Dekker: I have no clue. I’m writing for my own journey. People who read my books are not afraid of an authentic journey and they understand the language in which I write. I’m just exploring truth, God’s heart, my place.

I think that my first 6-7 books were very Christian. To be honest with you, the first few books I wrote like Showdown, Black, these were rejected because they were too edgy at the time. Once I had an audience, I went back to what was more natural for me like Showdown. I lost some of my older readers, but the younger readers were really attracted to those kinds of stories. I’m writing more spiritually intense, more like Black, Red, and White.
 
Lisa, which of my novels was your favourite?
 
LHW: Me? Adam. I was saved out of the Occult so that book really spoke to me.
 
Ted Dekker: Adam – it was very disturbing for many people. There are people who have faced the darkness and been swallowed by it and are afraid of it. The only people who aren’t afraid of it are those who faced it and learned there’s power over darkness. Find the light within you. Shining a light in the darkness. It’s fun no longer having fear as a master.
 

LHW: What is it about your writing that speaks to younger generations?
 
Ted Dekker: My writing is a reflection of my own journey…I write to explore what I’ve been taught or what it means to be who I am…My books have been very dark because at times I’ve been looking for the light in the dark, that demonstration of that power. Over time there’s always been this missing link – this understanding of my own identity. I’ve come to embrace a new understanding of who I am in Christ.
 
LHW: What is it about the thriller genre that appeals to you?
 
Ted Dekker: I’m a very passionate person. Thrillers allow me to put characters into extreme situations to see how they react…explore more extremes. I think young people do speak the language of extremes and experience more extremes than older generations. I think that’s why I gravitated towards thrillers. Not all my books are thrillers. A third of the books I’ve written are thrillers, plus my fantasy novels and storyteller books. They all have elements of thrillers in them, they’re not classical thrillers as such.
 
Are you fan of Ted Dekker? What is it about his writing appeals to you?
 

Lisa Hall-Wilson is an award-winning freelance writer and syndicated columnist in the Canadian faith-based market. She writes dark fantasy novels and blogs Through The Fire at www.lisahallwilson.com.

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