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Write What You Know – even in Fiction
Write what you know. This may seem like the most obvious advice in the word, but it’s not. While I’m sure many of us have a burning desire to write the next great novel of pure fictitious brilliance, there is something to be said for using the material your life has gracefully provided you. And it is immediate and at-hand. The only research required is within your own personal history and daily life.
Julia Cameron‘s suggestion of writing “morning pages,” from her book called the The Artist’s Way, is one great suggestion to mine the creative juices from our lives. In this free writing, free flow, pre-consciousness approach, we can find creative breakthrough by writing whatever comes to us. I suspect that this method frequently reveals gems from one’s own personal reality.
What if you rebut: “My life is so boring!”
I’d respond: “Is it? Is it really?”
My six-year-old daughter tells me when she is bored. Often times it is when she is not engaged by me or a teacher or a friend or her siblings; and also when she is too tired or grumpy to play by herself. When she says this, it always blows my mind. She has a pretty amazing life for a little girl – that’s what I feel from my perspective at least. I’ve stocked our home with countless garage sale books. She has neighborhood friends and they play (safely) in the street. We travel to visit our out of town family. When I look at all the places she has gone, the experiences our family has had together, the opportunities open to her, I think: “Wow, you’ve had a great life so far, my dear.” I hope most days she realizes this too.
It’s all a matter of perspective.
One of our mandates as writers is to translate our experiences into our fiction, non-fiction, poetry, young adult stories, mysteries, essays, short stories, and the list goes on. Whatever your mind can conceive of, right?
If you are a fiction writer that has never considered taking inspiration from your own life, I suggest you give it a try! Think about the people that cross your path every day; your coworkers, family and friends . Maybe some of them can become your most beloved characters – or villains. You have a collection of people around you. People you know extremely well – from their opinions to their facial expressions. Take inspiration from these folks and write that kind of detail and intimacy with humanity into your stories. The same goes for settings.
I’ve heard it said somewhere, something to the effect of: there is no true fiction. (If someone can point me to the actual quote, that would be much appreciated.) There is a grain of truth behind all stories. What better reason is there to write what we know!
Somehow, my life experiences always seep into my writing. Or perhaps I would better describe it by saying: my life provides the richness of inspiration for my writing. This is something I am extremely grateful for.
I am so inspired by the human experience that I have inevitably become an avid observer and recorder. For me, memoir and personal essays are an easy choice. However, it is nice every once and a while to break out and experiment with fiction. You could say my successful completions of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month; 50K in the month of November) and the 3 Day Novel Contest (September long weekend; 100+ pages) are just such a foray into crafting work outside my every-day life. I would also argue that I simply love a challenge.
Funny enough, I actually found it much easier to write fiction to the pace of the racing clock during these competitions than I did the one year I participated in NaNoWriMo with a memoir as my goal. I couldn’t unearth my personal stories that quickly. They require a slow-cook-approach I’ve discovered.
What I write about most often, for my profession and for pleasure, are family stories. Parenting. Motherhood. Being a working-mom. Being an artist-mom. Personal identity. These topics are close to my heart. They feel almost quintessential and spiritual to me. For now, I am telling these stories through creative non-fiction. Its a blurry category. Is it 100% truth? Well, no. Is it fiction? Nope, not really. At the same time, I feel like creative non-fiction is my perfect vehicle, for now, to write what I know.
What writing projects have captured your heart right now?
What are you working on?
How do you use your own life as inspiration for your work – no matter what genre you are writing in?
Please comment below. Let’s have a conversation : )
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Thank you for reading!
– Alexis Marie
A Writer’s Reading List
There is not much in life where a person can succeed alone. Learning from others, being mentored and reading books are key activities for anyone wishing to strengthen their skills and creativity.
A Writer’s Reading List
What books are your favorites?
What literature has inspired you over the years?
What titles motivate you as a writer?
I have collected the beginnings of a reading list from what I personally have found helpful. It is made up of books I have read and ones I hope to dig into soon. A good number of the titles I discovered during my Masters of Fine Art in Creative Writing at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.
Some of these books are helpful for the craft of writing. Others will inspire you creatively. A handful will motivate you to edit, while others are for the publication stage of a writer’s life.
Happy reading everyone!
Note: I have added a category to my blog called READING LIST. I will add to it over time. Please feel free to comment below with the names of books you have found helpful.
FICTION & NON-FICTION HANDBOOKS
The Craft of Writing
By William Sloane
Beyond the Writers’ Workshop
By Carol Bly
The Art of Time in Memoir
BY Sven Birkerts
Writing & Selling your Memoir
By Paula Balzer
Burning Down the House
By Charles Baxter
Art and Fear
By Orland & Bayles
Narrative Design
By Madison Bell
Illuminations
By Walter Benjamin
What If?
By Painter & Bernays
Letters to a Fiction Writer
By Frederick Busch
Writing Fiction
By Janet Burroway
From Where You Dream
By Robert & Olen Butler
Six Memos for the Next Millenium
By Italo Calvino
Creating Fiction
By Julie Checkoway
Pen on Fire
By Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
Story Matters
By Denman & Shoupp
Aspects of the Novel
By E.M. Forester
The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers
By John Gardner
On Writing
By Stephen King
Writer’s Guide to Crafting Stories for Children
By Nancy Lamb
A Giacometti Portrait
By James Lord
Writing the Breakout Novel
By Donald Maas
The Lonely Voice
By Frank O’Connor
Reading Like a Writer
By Francine Prose
Writing in Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Picture Books
By Uri Schulevitz
Deepening Fiction
By Stone & Nyren
If You Want to Write
By Brenda Ueland
Why I Write
By Eudora Welty
The King & The Corpse
By Heinrich Robert Zimmer
Backwards and Forwards
By David Ball
The Life of the Drama
By Eric Bentley
The Playwright as Thinker
By Eric Bentley
The Empty Space
By Peter Brook
The Power of Myth
By J. Campbell & B. Moyers
Playwriting
By Louis Catron
Aristotle’s Poetics
By Gerald Else
The Art of Fiction
By John Gardner
How to Write a Selling Screenplay
By Christopher Keane
Screenwriting from the Soul
By Richard Krevolin
Bird by Bird
By Anne Lamott
An Experiment in Criticism
By C.S. Lewis
Screenplay: Writing the Picture
By R. Russin & & Missouri Downs W
The Screenwriter’s Bible
By David Trottier
The Writer’s Journey
BY Christopher Vogler
Picture This: How Pictures Work
By Molly Bang
How to Write a Children’s Picture Book
By Bine-Stock
Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write
By Elizabeth Lyon
Writing With Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books
By Uri Shulevitz
FICTION & NON-FICTION ESSAYS
- Baxter, Burning Down the House
- Baxter, The Art of Subtext
- Baxter, Bringing the Devil to His Knees
- Berg, Stephen (ed.), In Praise of What Persists
- Birkerts, Sven, The Art of Time in Memoir
- Calvino, Italo, Six Memos for the Next Millennium
- Gornick, Vivian, The Situation and the Story
- Gornick, Vivian, The End of the Novel of Love
- Hersey, (ed)., The Writer’s Craft
- Justice, Donald, “The Prose Sublime”: A Donald Justice Reader
- Kundera, Milan, The Art of the Novel
- O’Connor, Flannery, Mystery & Manners
- Plimpton, George, The Writer’s Chapbook
- Prose, Francine, Reading Like a Writer
- Rich, Adrienne, On Lies, Secrets and Silence
- Spitz, Ellen Handler, Inside Picture Books
- Welty, Eudora, One Writer’s Beginnings
- Welty, Eudora, The Eye of the Storm
- Cooper, Susan, Dreams and Wishes: Essays on Writing for Children
- Harrison, Barbara & Maguire, Gregory, Origins of Story: On Writing for Children
- Marcus, Leonard, Ways of Telling: Conversations on the Art of the Picture Book
- Zinsser, William, Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children.
- Zinsser, William , On Writing Well
POETRY HANDBOOKS
The Practice of Poetry
By Behn & Twichell
Measures: Contemporary American Poetry in Traditional Forms
By Dacey & Jauss & Strong
Poetry Handbook
By Babette Deutsch
Poetic Meter and Poetic Form
By Paul Fussell
Rhyme’s Reason
By Hollander
The Poet’s Companion
By Dorianne Laux and Kim Addonizio
The Discovery of Poetry
By Mayes
Western Wind
By Nims
The Sound of Poetry
By Robert Pinsky
The Making of a Poem
By Mark Strand and Evan Boland (eds.)
The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
POETRY ESSAYS
- Bell, Old Snow Just Melting
- Birkerts, The Electric Life: Essays on Modern Poetry
- Bryan and Olsen, Eds., Planet on the Table: Poets on the Reading Life
- Dobyns, Best Words, Best Order
- Eliot, The Sacred Wood
- Glück, Proofs and Theories
- Hass, Twentieth Century Pleasures
- Heaney, Finders Keepers
- Heaney, The Government of the Tongue
- Hoagland, Real Sofistication: Essays on Poetry and Craft
- Jarrell, Poetry and The Age
- Justice, Platonic Scripts
- Pinsky, Poetry and the World
- Plumly, Argument and Song
- Pound, The Literary Essays of Erza Pound
- Sontag and Graham, After Confession: Poetry as Autobiography
- Stevens, The Necessary Angel
- Vendler, Part of Nature, Part of Us
- Vendler, The Breaking of Style
- Vendler, The Music of What Happens
- Voigt, The Flexible Lyric
- Williamson, Introspection and Contemporary Poetry
Here are some links to other reading lists for writers:
FlavorWire – 25 Books Every Writer Should Read
Open Culture – Earnest Hemingway Creates a Reading List for a Young Writer, 1934
Aerogramme Writer’s Studio – Stephen King’s Reading List for Writers
I’m an MFA Graduate!
Graduations are bitter sweet. I loved my two years in the Masters of Fine Art program at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. I met many wonderful writers, both those that sat beside me in classes and those that taught us – but from all those creative individuals, I have learned a great deal.
I needed a wider-angle to get all the students and faculty into the picture!
It is sad to move on, leaving a fabulous cohort and regular residencies behind. Cambridge was a hub of creativity and vibrated with people and ideas. Yet, it’s the possibilities of the next horizon, so they say, which is wildly exciting.
I am an extremely planned person, so I know my next few steps, but at the same time the possibilities astound me. I’m open for whatever may come next. I’m thinking PhD, new writing assignments and my next memoir, which is already in the works.
Waiting to give my graduation speech in which I told a story about two characters: Muse and Writer.
I’m the kind of person that thrives on activity. I may not be working hard for university classes after this, but I’ll be putting that same determination into whatever is to come. And don’t worry – I’ll keep you posted!
Graduation speech given. Degree received. Now on to the next adventure!
Happy writing, my friends!
Writing Is Learning
One of my favorite parts about being a writer is learning about the world. I’ve written about Santorini, Greece, about cabin life in Alberta and about people from all walks – their struggles, history and triumphs. Writing allows the wonderful tool of observation to flourish, which is the ability to perceive and seek understanding, even to simply acknowledge that not everything may be understood.
Not everyone needs to be a professional writer to enjoy this learning and vision of the world. I believe anyone can teach themselves to see. Pick up a pen and write impressions. Sit still in a place of motion, a train station, a museum, a pedestrian avenue; what do you see, what are the people doing, who are they? What does it all mean?
Reflecting on my own experiences is another way I learn through writing. When I write my columns for Edmonton Woman Magazine or larger sections of my life in my memoirs, I begin to see the rhythms and randomness and beautiful complexities of life, of my life specifically and human existence in general. This is a gift. Writing has the power to transform.
What are you learning these days?
Happy writing!
Have you Registered for the Words in 3D Conference?
Writing conferences are amazing. First, you get out of your lonely writing spot and meet other like-minded individuals. Second, it is a focused time to feed your creative soul. I am presenting two workshops at the Words in 3D Conference but I also registered for some sessions to fuel the hungry writer in me.
Here is the info about the conference:
Words in 3Dimensions Conference
Three conferences in one: Writing/Editing/Publishing
May 22-24, 2015
Chateau Lacombe Hotel
Edmonton, Alberta
Click here to visit the conference website, review the schedule and register.
Here are my sessions:
How to Take a Picture Worthy of Your Words
Saturday, May 23
11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Covering the basics of good photography, including exposure, composition, and technical requirements for different publications, Alexis Marie Chute shares what writers need to know about taking great photos for their projects. This session includes a group brainstorm for attendees’ current projects and recommendations from Alexis Marie on making your photography a stronger statement to support your words.
Saturday, May 23, 2015 – 11:30
Memorable Memoir: Writing Personal Stories
Saturday, May 23
4:00 – 5:15 p.m.
Alexis Marie Chute offers tools and techniques for writing your personal story: removing sentimentality, finding alternatives to strict chronological structure, and building authenticity. Featuring memory recall exercises, this presentation is a must-see for anyone writing personal narratives.
Saturday, May 23, 2015 – 16:00
Blue Pencil Café
“At Blue Pencil Café, conference participants get the opportunity for one-on-one mentoring sessions with experienced writers or editors. Bring a writing sample to review, ask your questions, get advice — the Blue Pencil mentors are here as a resource for you!”
Each session will be 20 minutes long.
Some mentors require writing samples in advance (I do please!).
If you are interested in meeting me at the Blue Pencil Café, here is some info about me so we can go into our time together well acquainted:
Alexis Marie Chute
BFA, MFA Candidate, Artist & Writer
Alexis Marie Chute is an award winning artist, photographer and writer. She is an Avenue Magazine “Top 40 Under 40” and was named an “Emerging Canadian Photographer” by Photo Life Magazine. She was the 2012/2013 Artist in Residence at Harcourt House Artist Run Centre and her artwork is represented by Method Art Gallery in Scottsdale Arizona and by the AR&S Gallery at the Art Gallery of Alberta. Her writing has been published in the Three Minus One anthology and with the Women’s Art Museum Society of Canada, along with other credits including Today’s Parent, The Times Colonist and Flurt magazine. Her first book, a memoir about motherhood and loss, is forthcoming.
I look forward to seeing you at Words in 3D!
I’m Teaching Two Sessions at Words in 3D Conferencence
In May 2015 aspiring writers will convene to learn and be challenged in the areas of writing, editing and publishing. I attended the Words in 3 Dimensions Conference last year and found it wildly valuable, plus a great opportunity to connect with other literary artists. With so many good memories in my pocket, it was an honour to be asked to present at the 2015 event.
Here is information about Words in 3D and the two sessions I will be teaching:
May 22 – 24, 2015
Chateau Lacombe Hotel
Edmonton, Alberta
Registration opens February 1, 2015
How to Take a Picture Worthy of Your Words
Saturday, May 23, 2014
11:30AM – 12:45PM
Covering the basics of good photography, including exposure, composition, and technical requirements for different publications, Alexis Marie Chute shares what writers need to know about taking great photos for their projects. This session includes a group brainstorm for attendees’ current projects and recommendations from Alexis Marie on making your photography a stronger statement to support your words.
Memorable Memoir: Writing Personal Stories
Saturday, May 23, 2015
4:00PM – 5:15PM
Alexis Marie Chute offers tools and techniques for writing your personal story: removing sentimentality, finding alternatives to strict chronological structure, and building authenticity. Featuring memory recall exercises, this presentation is a must-see for anyone writing personal narratives.
