They talk about ‘writing what you know’ and we've talked about it around here, too.
Does that mean the characters you write and draw have to match all the surface details of your identity, sharing your gender, race, and hobbies?
Of course not.
The characters and stories you create might not be anything like you! They may not look like you, live like you, or behave like you. They might not want the things you want, or care about the things you care about.
In fact, they might be the complete opposite of you. They might not even be human!
If you're making comics, your characters are not necessarily making comics.
And you're not limited to what you already know as far as stories, either. You can learn new stuff - and you can obviously make up stuff.
To me, the ‘write what you know’ thing means that stuff you care about should go into your stories.
And when I say “things you care about” I'm using that to mean, stuff you love, stuff you hate, stuff you're passionate about, afraid of, regretful about, stuff you're dreading and missing and stuff you fervently wish could happen.
And that stuff goes in to your stories. Not necessarily in an obvious way. But it goes into the worlds and stories you build. And you'll love what you're making.
And your readers will feel that, and love it too!
Have a good one, youse!
-Banes
You
Banes at 12:00AM, Sept. 24, 2020
6 likes!
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usedbooks at 5:32PM, Sept. 25, 2020
@kawaii: lol. Maybe you're the audience for it. I sure wasn't. XD Took me right out of the story.
kawaiidaigakusei at 10:17PM, Sept. 24, 2020
@usedbook, I am so intrigued about W. Goldman’s pages of technical descriptions of fencing technique! I LOVE that type of text-book like writing. I studied fencing for two years and the final class was spent watching the Princess Bride’s fencing scene because of the advanced technical skill.🤺 ⚔️🤺
usedbooks at 5:47PM, Sept. 24, 2020
But be careful with that passion. My uncle, a doctor, has taken up writing fantasy novels in his retirement. His first draft had tedious technical descriptions of medical stuff. Similarly, the book Princess Bride has a coma-inducing multi-page swordfight in it that reads like a technical fencing guide. You can bore non-industry people with your passions if you aren't careful. Remember to step outside yourself and read your work from an outsider perspective.
PaulEberhardt at 11:26AM, Sept. 24, 2020
I quite unashamedly write what I know. It's much preferable to not knowing what I write. Great article, Banes! It sums up just what I think about this topic, too.
KAM at 4:46AM, Sept. 24, 2020
Never use yourself as a character. I made that mistake. Ugh! I didn't grow or change. That's the real reason why I had me stuffed in a trunk and shipped to Abu Dabbi. I was boring as a character.
bravo1102 at 4:11AM, Sept. 24, 2020
I've known plenty of people so it's not just me, but everyone I've ever seen or met. When I first wanted to be a writer I realized how important observing people could be. You could almost say that it's a group effort. It's not just what I know, but everyone I have ever known.
Andreas_Helixfinger at 3:20AM, Sept. 24, 2020
I got nothing to add to this, so I'll just settle with saying that this was a very good article😊
cybermatrix at 3:08AM, Sept. 24, 2020
Extremely decent!!! This is great data much obliged for sharing
Ozoneocean at 1:23AM, Sept. 24, 2020
Yes, record your feelings about a reaction to something to make a character seem more real, that's the best way to use the "write what you know" adage.