Loading…
17
Warning: That "write what you know" advice nearly killed my fantasy story
I got so fed up with my magic system feeling fake that I decided to ground it in real chemistry (you know, exothermic reactions and stuff). Spent three whole evenings researching catalytic converters and ended up with a chapter that reads like a car repair manual. My beta reader said it was "technically accurate but put me to sleep." Has anyone else had a writing prompt or rule backfire like this when you took it too literally?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
claire9991mo ago
Read somewhere that "write what you know" actually means write what you feel...
7
black.patricia1mo ago
Hmm, I gotta disagree a little bit with that... "Write what you feel" sounds nice but feelings change so fast, you'd be rewriting everything every week. Know what I mean? I think knowing a subject inside and out gives you solid ground to stand on, even if the story is totally made up. Like, you can write a fantasy world but if you don't know how people actually act or what stress feels like, it falls flat. Feelings are part of it, but they're not the whole engine.
1