Familiar Paths

I think most writers have heard the advice to write what you know. When I was first starting to write I translated that into using familiar surroundings, such as James Herriot’s English country side of his youth or Charles de Lint’s hip small town based on one he lived in. Although very different in style and content, both of these authors transport you somewhere else, in part because the setting is so real. Other writers add this realism as a part of their profession or hobbies; ex-policeman authors write very good crime scenes because they know what goes on in that world.

So what did that mean for me? I’m a Midwest gal, I was a psychologist in corporate America, I dance, paint, hike, garden, and I love fashion. If you read my books you can find bits of those scattered throughout my settings and characters. And it does work; I know what a dance studio looks like, I understand how corporate America functions, and don’t get me started on makeup.

But what I also discovered is familiarity can encompass some other things. For example, I am good at light rhyming verse; a rather useless but fun talent, kinda like being proficient at Trivial Pursuit. However...I do enjoy composing couplets and such and they are always in my head. I can’t tell you how often I managed boring meetings by composing poems and haiku. Since my favorite genre is young adult fiction, I realized that used judicially, I could incorporate my weird little skill into stories. And so in many of my books you will find rhyming verses, usually in the context of a spell. Here’s one from my novel Hagitha’s Chronicles:

Wrinkles, zits, or skin of crepe
Fat that makes my clothes not drape
Spots and moles and cellulite
Eyes and teeth that aren’t quite bright

A younger witch I’ll never be
Goodness no, don’t want to be
I like the wisdom that I have
Just need a little Witchy suave

In your own writing then, do consider using what you know; that odd, uncomfortable, or what you may think of as ordinary background will add a dose of realism to the most far out story. Remember that J.K. Rowling based Hogwarts on English boarding schools. Also, don’t be afraid to use hidden or even silly talents to spice up your stories. You could never get a job writing limericks, but say, wouldn’t a limerick spouting reluctant astronaut be fun? Ooooh.

You’d better not send me out there
I only signed up on a dare
I’m best at my desk
And to you I confess
I’ve got blasters and rockets to spare.

My friends call me hair trigger Dean
To off worlders I’m often quite mean
They’d do something wrong
Hum an alien song
And I’d cause inter-galactical scenes.