Should You "Write What You Know"?

Hemingway, Unimpressed

Hemingway once said, rather famously: "Write what you know." The quote has always been the subject of some controversy among writers.

Is it really necessary for a writer to only write what she knows? What does that mean, anyway? One could argue that the average human knows very little. So should we be limited to writing about our own experiences? The problem with this argument, of course, is that most writers' lives aren't interesting at all. That's why we write fiction!

(I won't even go into the argument that humans know basically nothing, as everything we believe we know is distorted by imperfect perception.)

Some writers have gotten fairly riled up in the past about this, but my interpretation of Hemingway's quote has always been thus: what a writer "knows" doesn't refer to actual facts and details or even events, but emotions.

For example: my latest two projects (pieces of which you may read here and here) both take place in foreign  locales (Rio de Janeiro and St. Petersburg, Russia, respectively.) As a result of their locations and subjects, I've had to do a great deal of research for both stories. However, I don't think a lack of details will ultimately hurt either. Simple bad writing will be the cause. (I say "will" with fair certainty.)

The fact is, I know my characters well. I understand their dreams, fears, and relationships. I've got the emotional framework for my plots; I only need to fill in the details.

Of course, as they say, the devil is in the details.

Anyway. My point stands: I don't consider knowledge as necessary to a story's success as skill. Of course, some knowledge is necessary, especially if a writer isn't familiar with a setting. I'm more certain of Irina's story than Ines', because Irina's socioeconomic position is more similar to mine, and I've been to St. Petersburg once. Though most big cities are fairly similar, I'm hesitant to write about Rio; I don't want to make too many assumptions. To make my story more accurate, therefore, I've spent some time viewing Rio using Google Earth's Street View and reading about the city on actual Cariocas' blogs.

A good point to make here is that the Internet has really redefined the average person's access to information. Nearly all of my research I do online. I could certainly rent out films or books, but find the web to be a more convenient knowledge source.

One last point: some have questioned the application of Hemingway's quote to science fiction/fantasy. They argue that he excludes these genres - which he does, if you interpret his words literally. However, I'd argue that one ought to interpret "knowing" a setting as "strong worldbuilding."

Do you agree with Hemingway? How do you interpret his advice?

P.S. - Here is a great article on this subject. It includes some commentary from the wonderful Nathan Englander, who (brag alert) I've met! Yes, he's also lovely in real life. (This is especially refreshing for the writer who feels their creatively-dry younger years were wasted.)

On Web Series

vlog (ˈvlɒɡ) — n

a video journal uploaded to the internet

Vlogs (video blogs) are one of the cooler products of YouTube's popularity, allowing random strangers insight to other random strangers' lives. Among my favorite vloggers are the brothers Green (creators of educational channels CrashCourse and SciShow; John is also a #1 New York Times-bestselling author.) I've followed the duo online for about 3 years, and attended an awesome event they held last year at a local indie book store in celebration of John's new novel The Fault in Our Stars.

As it happens, I also follow John on Twitter. Last April 9^th, he linked to a video which sounded interesting, a new project of his brother Hank’s. It was called the “Lizzie Bennet Diaries” – a modern version of Jane Austen’s classic “Pride and Prejudice.” I was familiar with the story, so watched the video with interest. But what caught my attention was its format.

It was a vlog. A fictional one, that is. Videos were released regularly, and soon other characters in the story universe began their own vlogs. Characters created Twitter and Tumblr accounts, too, creating an interactive experience.

As I later learned, the "LBD" isn't the first of its kind. According to Wikipedia:

A web series is a series of videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of t he newly emerging medium called web television… While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept itself isn't entirely new. Scott Zakarin created the first advertiser supported web series in 1995, The Spot.

There are a thousand media through which to tell a story. I deal with written forms: novels, short stories, poems, et cetera.  Other popular media include musicals, films, and television. As a storyteller, I feel it’s important to have an understanding of each of these forms.

So, it came as a surprise when I discovered web series. Curious, I looked into the classics, including lonelygirl15 and The Guild. I searched through list, like this one from Flavorwire.

Poster for Submissions Only, one of my favorite web series.

Web series are curious to me. Though their budgets are generally small (H+ is one exception), they’re often of surprisingly high quality. For example, I enjoyed seasons 1 and 2 of “Submissions Only” much more than many popular television shows I’ve seen. I was also impressed by “Burning Love” and “Dirty Work” (just a note: “BL” includes blurred nudity, “DW” language.) Other great shows include “Squaresville” and “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” which is actually a musical of Joss Whedon’s. (When I heard about “Dr. Horrible”, I had a little heart attack. A Whedon musical featuring Felicia Day, Neil Patrick Harris, and Nathan Fillion? The music is fantastic, and the story is powerful. Watch till the end and you’ll understand what I mean.)

Web series come in all shapes and sizes (or lengths, that is.) Just a few examples:

1. “The Lydia Bennet”, a tie-in series with the “Lizzie Bennet Diaries.” Installments last only two or three minutes. Both fictional vlogs are designed to be interactive (discussed at 25:00 in this podcast), and have gained a strong fan base, or “fandom.” Viewers are mostly women, though the age range is wide. The series is sometimes comedic, sometimes dramatic, but always engaging. This series could easily have turned out badly, but luckily both its writers and actors are quite talented. In fact, watching this latest video of Lydia’s prompted me to write a paragraph-length comment on Lydia’s psychology. 
2. “Dirty Work”, a dark comedy from Rides.tv. Episodes last 20 minutes each but are split into three acts. The show provides some fun bonus content, including additional video clips and optional messages to your phone or desktop (sent by the characters, so that the viewer becomes a part of the story.) The show depicts the misadventures of three Los Angelenos working in the crime scene clean up business.
3. “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”, a tragicomedic musical from the wonderful Joss Whedon. It’s split into three 14-minute acts. From Wikipedia: The show tells the story of Dr. Horrible (played by Neil Patrick Harris), an aspiring supervillain; Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion), his nemesis; and Penny (Felicia Day), their shared love interest.

Whatever your interests, whichever experience type you prefer, there’s a web series for you.

Probably, that is. It might just be me, but most web series seem to fit into more specific niches than television shows. For example, though I found “GeekTherapy” to be cute, I found the show dull. (This is mostly because I didn't understand its geeky references.)

If you've never watched a web series, I’d encourage you to look into the media. It has a lot to offer, and can only grow more diverse and engaging with time.

Update: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries eventually went on to win an Emmy, and I fell in love with sequel series Emma Approved as well as Freddy Wong's creation Video Game High School. The 1st season might need some video game knowledge to appreciate, but even clueless me loved season 2.