August 4, 2010

What You Don't Know


"Write what you know," the old adage goes. Strong advice. Sensible, but limiting.

What I know would fill the trunk of my beat-up, old Corsica. What I don't know is limitless. And, it's those things I don't know that drive me.

I think the better advice--and maybe the adage's true intent--is: Observe what's around you. Study. Think. Learn. Expand on your experience, and ask yourself, "What if . . . ?". Be an explorer. Be a scientist. Seek what you don't know.

For a writer, inquisitiveness is as valuable a tool as knowlege.

Photo by Marco Bellucci

2 comments:

  1. Lila AlgerAugust 7, 2010 at 9:22 AM

    I agree and that is what Mark taught in his class. I often think of something Martha Steward said, "be accurate on your research and study down to the detail." or something along those lines.

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  2. JamesNovember 5, 2010 at 10:33 PM

    I think that Traci and Lila are right on the money here. The books that I enjoy the most are those that seem 'real;' that take me away to another world with a level of detail that sets the stage for the plot and characters.

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