130. Write What You Don't Know – Caro Claire Burke
The moment my writing changed for the better was when I stopped trying to write as an authority on what I thought I knew and started writing as a person who seeks to understand.
Anyone who’s ever sat through a creative writing class, or logged onto Pinterest, has seen this line: “Write what you know.” At face value, it makes sense, but the theory inherently limits you to a tiny box of creative thinking, which is why so many novels have a protagonist who is —surprise!—a writer.
What’s more concerning is how this strategy encourages you to spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about yourself, your life, your experiences; how it asks you to prioritize these thoughts over the lives and experiences outside of your immediate scope of vision. The moment my writing changed for the better was when I stopped trying to write as an authority on what I thought I knew and started writing as a person who seeks to understand.
Lately I’ve been writing short stories inspired by the songs in Taylor Swift’s Folklore album. When I decided to do this, it was the first time in my writing career where the narrative had nothing to do with me.
Each story was about a person I hadn’t met, encountering circumstances I’d never experienced. Through the music, I started to create worlds I’d never seen.
This practice is limitless: Once you decide to be a student of experiences beyond your own, you delve into an infinite well of creativity—and in doing so you learn things about yourself that might surprise and twist you out of the invisible constraints of the known.
And yes, it also means you get to create Taylor Swift fan fiction and call it art. No small victory.
– Caro Claire Burke
