Writings of Emily Boswell
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Hello there readers, I was thinking about what to write for this weeks post and I was reminded of a conversation I had with my husband yesterday. We were discussing something I saw on Twitter. Someone asked the #WritingCommunity what their least favorite writing advice is. Several people said they hated hearing, "write what you know." One person claimed we wouldn't have great fantasy works like A Song of Ice and Fire, or Lord of the Rings. I can see where the distrust in this common saying comes from, but there should be none. Writing what you know isn't meant to be taken literally. Anyone who writes already writes what they know, even in the most wild works of fantasy. Take for example Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I'm reading the collection for the first time, and it's brilliant. It's a wild space adventure, set far from Earth, and far away from our reality. But it was inspired by real life. I recommend reading about it yourself, but basically the author was given his own hitchhikers guide while traveling. That book, and those experiences, were the spring board for one of the most famous sci-fi series ever written. These stories began because he wrote what he knew. That's a very specific example, and I could go into more detail, but I don't want to write an essay and bore anyone who's reading this to death. All writers do this, even if you don't realize you are. (Although I would argue, your story would be stronger if you did it purposefully, but I won't go into that.) We take stories and characters from people we meet, politics, history, our own relationships, heartbreaks, our hometown quirks, etc. The advice of writing what you know isn't meant to limit you, but to inspire you. It's saying, "Take these real life experiences, and all that encompasses, (big and small) and use it to lay the ground work for something magical." This isn't meant to be a dis on anyone. It's my take on what I believe to be an extremely useful writing tool. One that is often misconstrued. And apologies for the amounts of time I said, write, writing, or advice. It was plenty.
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Hello readers, I'm stressed. (What's new?) Real life has been less stable than I'd like. I like routine, I like when things go as planned, and when a wrench gets thrown into that, it wears me out. I know that just sounds like life and I should expect a lot of it in the future, but it's tiresome nonetheless. There is a positive though: It makes me realize how important something like this blog is. It gives me a task to look forward to besides my 9-5 job. It might not be written perfectly, or heavily revised or planned out, but that's okay. It isn't meant to be. This might feel like a repeat of last week's topic, and in a lot of ways it is. Staying motivated is an everyday challenge, and even more so when you're not feeling at your best, be that mentally or physically. But what I'm coming to understand as I write this, is that these special, personal hobbies are even more important when you're down and out. Making time to do things for you, be it writing, knitting, making music, etc. are like mental anchors amidst a storm. I feel like I should add here that I'm in no way trying to make anyone feel bad for not sticking to good habits or for taking a break from things they love. There's any number of reasons why that would happen, and that's okay. Everyone's mental health journey is different, and I'm not here to judge yours. So I'm going to keep challenging myself to crawl out bed in the morning, no matter how tempting that warm bed looks, and I'm going to keep writing until my short story is finished and ready for an audience. I hope that you can find a craft or hobby too, or get back to an old one you used to love. And I hope it serves to bring you even just a little bit of happiness in this sometimes dark world. |
AuthorEmily Boswell is a Michigan writer and digital marketing manager. She enjoys writing short stories and flash, and is currently working on her debut novel. Archives
September 2020
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