Wisconsin Is Not All Cheese and You Shouldn’t Always Write About What You Know
Wisconsin is not all cheese, as it turns out. Nor is it all Dells. These are pretty much the only two identity-markers I had for the state when I arrived there Friday (in the living room of college friends Nick and Lauren).
What brought me to town, besides Lauren’s old world cooking straight from her backyard spice garden, was hosting a writing workshop at Treasure’s Bookstore. Treasures–I am told–is the largest online discount Christian bookstore out there.
Writing workshops are one of the most indulgent gigs I do as a speaker. It’s a chance to be a writer among writers. To talk about what you love with people who understand why you love it. Yet I don’t even remember to pitch these workshops all that often (I’ll let you psycho-analyze that; I just don’t have time today).
This morning was no disappointment. The energy humming from a room full of aspiring writers is electric.
My position on writing, I always tell attenders, is not the standard “write about what you know.” We know too many boring things. How to change a tire, when to take a casserole out of the oven, what kind of mulch lasts the longest. And even though I think you could write and EVEN SELL perfectly solid pieces touting all this information, you.might.die.of.boredom.in.the.process.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the world has some crappy features to it. There’s a lot of dysfunction and hurt on the loose. In light of that, I’m convinced that writers can’t afford to remain neutral. They can’t afford to write articles about which olive oil is most flavorful (unless of course olive oil is the sort of thing that keeps them awake at night). Instead, we have to write out our tension between the world that is and the world that we envision can be possible.
We have to walk through that one door–the risky one, the one we’re scared to walk through–if we want to write the best stuff stirring in the hottest parts of our souls.
Sarah Freeborn blogged about the morning at Treasure’s. She’s got humor on her side. And I believe in the dreamer in her. So I’ll let her words close out this post, rather than mine.
If you want to do a writer’s workshop though, drop me a line at sarahraymondcunningham (at) gmail (dot) com. I’d love to come indulge with you.<3
Janet Oberholtzer August 31, 2010 (7:15 am)
Excellent post … reading this I realized I am confused with ‘write what you know’. I’m not sure what I know right now (it’s a complicated story) so I’ve not been writing much.
But this has given me wind under my sails ( I hope!) and I think I will (I think I can, I think I can) write the tensions I’m living in instead of waiting until I have it all figured out. (which will be never)
Thank you!
Traditionalrugs.Blogetery.Com February 19, 2014 (10:24 am)
This design is wicked! You obviously know how to keep a reader
amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well,
almost…HaHa!) Great job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
Too cool!
dermatologist February 25, 2014 (1:30 am)
I was wondering if you ever considered changing
the structure of your site? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could
connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having
one or two pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?
carpets-remade.de February 28, 2014 (3:06 pm)
Hi, I read your blog daily. Your humoristic style is awesome, keep doing
what you’re doing!
Landscaping Apps April 8, 2014 (4:01 am)
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and
sources back to your site? My blog site is in the
exact same area of interest as yours and my visitors would definitely
benefit from some of the information you provide here.
Please let me know if this alright with you. Regards!
eurodrainage.co.uk April 24, 2014 (4:12 pm)
Because the admin of this webb site is working,
noo hesitation very shortly it will be renowned, due too its quality
contents.
million hits secret Kaleb Nation April 25, 2014 (12:59 pm)
The other day, while I was at work, my sister stole my iphone and tested to
see if it can survive a twenty five foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation.
My iPad is now broken and she has 83 views. I know this
is completely off topic but I had to share it with someone!
garden cart May 20, 2014 (3:42 pm)
Hey I am so excited I found your weblog, I really found you by error, while I was browsing on Aol for
something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thank
you for a incredible post and a all round interesting blog (I
also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read it all at the
moment but I have saved it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be
back to read much more, Please do keep up the superb jo.
http://newideasforyou.net June 12, 2014 (7:42 am)
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this web site before but after going through many of the articles I
realized it’s new to me. Regardless, I’m definitely delighted
I discovered it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back often!
djamila.se June 15, 2014 (11:51 am)
Interesting blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from
somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog stand out.
Please let me know where you got your design. Cheers