by Virginia King, @selkiemoonbooks
All new writers are advised to “write what you know” because sticking to your own experience is a recipe for authenticity, for not getting lost in unchartered territory. It goes hand in hand with character profiles and plot maps – nailing your story down so the writing is an exercise in fleshing out the bones. But are great stories pre-formed in the minds of their authors? And is this process fun?
Miles Davis told his musicians, “Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.” He wanted them to lose themselves, to let the music take them beyond the notes on the score, carrying their audience with them. Sounds like the same place we want to take our readers.
The Journey of a Thousand Steps
“There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story,” Beatrix Potter said. “You never quite know where they’ll take you.”Continue reading