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What Do I Write About?

We've all heard the old cliché - write about what you know. Hmmm, interesting idea, but what did H.G.Wells know about time machines or invasions from Mars? The answer is, surprisingly, quite a lot. While Wells had never seen a time machine or an invasion from Mars for that matter, he did know quite a lot about science and, ultimately, that's what these books were all about. Science fiction writers don't usually have first hand knowledge about the things they write about but they do often have a firm grasp of science. The question then is not “What do I know,” but “What do I know about?” In my case the answer was quite simple - I have had a lifelong interest in history and have taught it at university level. No contest there, then - I write historical fiction. What do you know about?

Having found a subject area in which to practice the art of creative writing, the next step is to find a particular subject to write about. In my case I have a great many subjects to choose from - about five and a half thousand years of recorded history to be precise. Time for another filter then. If you want to write a best seller its best if you choose a subject that prospective readers might find interesting. Writing about a loser who achieves nothing in his life and never does anything of interest might well reflect the usual human experience, but it's not likely to be very saleable. Imagine writing a novel about Alexander the Great's less talented younger brother Spiros, who stayed at home to collect butterflies while his brother went off to conquer the known world. On balance it's probably best to stick to the dramatic and write about Alexander rather than Spiros.

Having chosen something of interest to write about, a word of warning. Do lots of research. Many of the subjects I've written about have been well known to me, but I have always done extensive additional research nonetheless. The reason? Because no matter how much you think you know about a subject, there's always more. I recently wrote a new novel which was grounded in a period of history I knew well. Despite this I stuck to my own dictum and read as much additional material as I could find. I was both amazed at the number of trivial facts I managed to uncover and the way in which they impacted on the plotline. The final product was far different to my original vision, but was also much better.

You've probably either heard about or even experienced writer's block. This, I've often found, comes about because of a lack of planning. If you don't know where you're going how can you expect to get there? Having a template in your mind helps to avoid writer's block. However, another word of caution. Don't allow planning to become a straightjacket. Creative writing is exactly that - creative. If an idea occurs to you in the middle of your novel, pursue it. It might prove fruitless or take your novel off into a direction that you don't want. Well, OK - if that happens, scrap it and start again. There's nothing worse than getting to the end of a piece and thinking that there was more you could have done.

So far so good. In the next article I'll talk about first lines, the shape of chapters and keeping on course.