10-15-2012, 04:17 PM | #16 |
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Arthur Hailey is a good example of an author doing research to get things right I think. Certainly he wrote some good books where the setting itself seemed to be an actual character.
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10-15-2012, 11:56 PM | #17 |
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10-16-2012, 12:10 AM | #18 | |
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What you do is be sure what you do say is true and don't pretend to have been there. You don't have to. No one that reads your work will have been there themselves. And finally, in some ways all wars, all soldiers are the same. Like a recent movie said "you are always trying to get home." That's a universal truth. Last edited by frahse; 10-18-2012 at 04:04 AM. |
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10-16-2012, 07:37 AM | #19 | |
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10-16-2012, 10:56 AM | #20 |
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As I mentioned in another thread where this came up recently, here's my take:
"Write what you know" is a prompt for writers who are blocked, or are struggling to find a topic, or are stumped on how to flesh out a scene. It is a REMINDER to draw on your own knowledge as a source, freeing you up from having to figure out or make up, or research every concept or image. It is NOT supposed to be a limiter, as in "ONLY write what you know." That would be, I maintain, some of the worst advice you could get as a writer and would stifle the imagination. As a limiter, I agree that "know what you write" would be the better advice. "Write what you know" = a prompt to get the creative juices flowing by reminding you that you DO already have stuff in your head to write about. "Know what you write" = a caution that if you're going to write about what you don't know, do the research, put in the effort and make it sound believable. ApK |
10-16-2012, 01:19 PM | #21 | |
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I also was in military up north and remember complaining, frozen, 'only thing we miss here is to be shot at'. The 1990 movie 'Memphis Belle' is kinda romanticized but I still like its 'carry me home' spirit. BTW cool avatar, is that re-enactment? Don't see re-enactments here too much. |
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10-17-2012, 11:55 AM | #22 |
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I agree with a lot of what has been said. I also take "write what you know" to mean put your own spin on things based on your own unique experiences and point of view. You could give a hundred people a very specific topic and incident to write about, and if they all wrote from their perspective, you'd get a hundred very different stories.
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10-18-2012, 04:26 AM | #23 |
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PainMike
Thanks. The avatar is a painting of Thomas Jonathan Jackson. Commonly known as General Stonewall Jackson. He is a hero of mine, a great soldier in every respect. I also admire greatly the Northern General Sherman. He wasn't the soldier Stonewall was but he knew war for what it is. |
10-20-2012, 02:54 AM | #24 | |
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10-20-2012, 03:03 AM | #25 | |
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10-29-2012, 06:09 PM | #26 |
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I'm reminded of a scene in a "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode called "Explorers."
Commander Sisko (a space station commander) is flying a solar-sail powered lightship between two alien star systems, with his son, Jake, an aspiring writer. Jake has asked his father to critique a story he wrote about a Maquis resistance fighter. Sisko says he likes it, but... "In some places, you're writing about things you haven't actually experienced...at least I hope you haven't. Unless you've run off and joined the Maquis without telling me." I am flabbergasted that the TV writer could put that kind of criticism in that character's mouth. Of all people, a TV writer writing about flying a lightship between alien star systems should appreciate that "write what you know" does not mean "limit your writing to those things you have personally experienced." Grr! |
10-29-2012, 06:40 PM | #27 | |
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11-01-2012, 07:13 AM | #28 |
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This Goodreads quote of the day popped up in my mailbox just now and I thought of this thread.
Write what you know. That should leave you with a lot of free time. - Howard Nemerov |
11-02-2012, 06:01 AM | #29 | |
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You're not alone. The whole business of literary criticism is littered with unwarranted deep analysis. Reading commentary on Shakespeare, I sometimes want to take the writer by the throat a la The Simpsons and shout "D'oh! It's just a PUN. A JOKE. Geddit?!!" |
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11-02-2012, 08:26 AM | #30 | |
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