October 8, 2013 archive

"Write What You Know" and What That Means

Plot and world-building are merely delivery systems for conflict and character—real “human” emotions and experiences. If we write something that’s all car chases, vampire bites and geeky technology we’ve invented, the story will be uninteresting and superficial. I see this a lot on submissions. A writer gets so fascinated with dragons or terrorists or aliens that the body of the work lacks a beating human heart.