Nice news to hear, but as we hammered out the what and why it was clear that what had changed was my ability to describe an alien milieu in minute but relevant detail, and protraying an ordinary person surrounded by strange people in a strange environment who could be alien leaving him feeling like the odd man out, stranger in a strange land, essentially the experience I have almost everyday in my real life. Since I write SF this is immensely useful.

So, question is have you had any life experiences that have inadvertently made you a better writer? And I'm not talking about the deliberate ones like writers' conferences, participating in this forum, critiquing, etc...

It's interesting to note that journalism encourages writing about what one knows; however, I've noted that's not true as often as might seem logical. A veteran news correspondent covering a hurricane won't have as much raw emotional response as a first-timer. Considering the purpose of journalism is to inform the public of topics in the public interest, an emotional correspondent is likely to convey the danger of a hurricane more effectively than a 30-year veteran.

I've been around, more places and vocations than might be best for my mental and financial state. Anymore, even the familiar is strange. I'm a raging crowd agoraphobe. I'm always strongly feeling a place or situation. Doing so allows me to accommodate my anxiety toward strangers, either with real or imagined barriers. For me, it's more the people who create an emotional response than the place, but the places inform the behavior of the people and vice versa. They're so interconnected as to be indistinguishably linked.

ive had a few big experiences that could effect my writing (living in a foreign country, moving across the country as a young teenager, the sudden loss of a loved one, etc.), but at the time i didnt really pay attention in terms of being able to apply it to writing and expression. now i have to go back, dig them up try to reexperience it to some degree. im learning to 'experience' my life (something some people do naturally) to taste it, smell it, and not just react to it, or numbly bob along in life's river.

i am beginning to realize that even small events and memories can profoundly effect my perception and ability to express myself in writing. i remember when i was young, our campfire group went to a geriatric facility to talk with some of the patients and spend time with them. it was a very anxiety producing experience for me. i can still remember the smells, the sounds, and the apprehension (ok downright fear) i felt. i am exploring these feelings and memories to apply them in a story im working on.

im a bit of a slow learner in this way. ive always been behind in life, but better late than never. and sometimes better late than prematurely.

But "inadvertently"? Hmm ...

Right now I'm looking after my son's pet tarantula while he's away at college. This was a big surprise because I'm arachnophobic; but the thing is hynotically fascinating--as long as it's in its tank. I've had to research how to feed it, and in the process found out how they live. In consequence I'm planning a fantasy which features spiders ... and I haven't even started thinking about the pet boa constrictor he's also left with me ...

A while ago I entered a flash fiction contest imagining I'd write my usual kind of futuristic SF. Instead I found the trigger taking me to an unexpected fantasy set in the stone age and featuring Pagans--about which and whom I know almost nothing and have since enjoyed researching.

For me another great source of ideas is industrial history, which helps with the steam punk I'm exploring.

However, I think there are certain experiences that are essential if one writes in a very particular niche.

John Grisham certainly could not write so well about the lawyer world without, himself, being a lawyer.

Many military fiction writers have prior service records, and this certainly aids with authenticity; especially among readers who are also military.

Etc, etc.

I think the best rule of thumb is, all new experiences become fodder for improved story. Unless writing a totally abstract fantasy, no writer does themselves a favor just sitting around the house all year, never going out or doing things beyond their comfort zone.

But on the other hand, there's a certain "escape" component in writing---and I, for one thing, don't want to write about the dull things I actually do and have done and have intimate knowledge of.

There's also a certain implication in this philosophy, that writers should seek out new experiences and trades, for the sake of their writing---and that's something else I don't particularly want to do.

*****

For whatever it may be worth, here's an example of how NOT to imagine a scene from a recent experience of mine:

I attended a play festival last night (a series of one-act plays performed in the same evening), and in one of the plays a character came in from the rain and apologized for his dripping umbrella. One of the other characters had just spilled fruit punch on her dress, and a third character was scrambling to wet a paper towel to help wipe up the fruit punch. The problem was that they didn't have any water. My reaction was "HUH!? Of course you do, dripping from the umbrella." To me, this is an example of NOT writing what you know, and it was a very simple kind of knowing that would have taken a very little bit of imagination. (But maybe I'm the only one who would have thought of using the dripping rain water.)

The play had another problem in that, so far as I could tell, neither the rain, the dripping umbrella, the spilled fruit punch, or the "lack" of water to help clean up the spill had anything at all to do with the "plot" of the play. (Chekhov would have been spinning in his grave.)

I didn't mean to stay in the real world or not use your imagination to create places you've never been, but to use this as a launching pad to create stories and imaginary places. I have another universe that I made up where several of my stories take place, but I have drawn on my encounters and experiences with other people in my life to breath life into my stories and the characters that live there.

The first one is in LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa Alcott (who wrote imaginative adventure stories, but is known for her more "what you know" kinds of stories) where Jo March wants to write adventures, but is convinced to write something more home-like, and her book about her sister Beth is the one in which she succeeds.

The second one is in L.M. Montgomery's stories about Anne Shirley who also loved romantic adventure, but was encouraged over and over again to write about the "just folks" she knew.

The third one was in THE WALTONS (tv show) where John-Boy wanted to write about big, adventurous things, but only actually found success as a writer when he wrote about the "just folks" he grew up knowing.

And I bet you all can think of other stories like that. It isn't just "write what you know." The encouragement/pressure is to not write things you have to "make up" and instead just write about "folks."

I think "just folks" stories are okay, but they aren't the only kinds of stories out there. And if all you write about is so closely based on your own life that you are actually being seriously autobiographical, you are going to run out of material fast. I submit that that may be one reason why authors like Emily Bronte and Harper Lee never were able to write any other books.

Hmm.

Well.

I'm reminded of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, detaling the lives of two guys who wanted to create SF superhero comics, which won the Pulitzer a few years ago. (Again, I've got a copy but haven't yet gotten around to reading it.)

quote:

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Why are novels about guys who want to write fantasy or SF worthy of Pulitzer Prizes---yet fantasies or SF novels are not?

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