# Elsewhere on this site, a writer was asked for general advice about writingâ€¦



## The Backward OX (Jul 24, 2010)

*Elsewhere on this site, a writer was asked for general advice about writing…*

Their reply was “Write what you love best.”

I find this puzzling. I asked another person, who said much the same thing as I did, only less politely.

So what do you make of it? Was there a gem hidden in those words or was it just an example of an empty vessel?


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## Like a Fox (Jul 24, 2010)

People tell me to write the book I want to read, that's how I've always applied that "Write what you love best" thing. 
I hadn't really worked out if I was doing that. Sometimes I like to read what I couldn't write. (Anything serious.)

But I guess, my WIP is a book that would really 'speak' to me if I found it, and I'd think it was funny and clever.


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## Ilasir Maroa (Jul 24, 2010)

It means write what you enjoy reading, as Fox said.  Pretty simple.


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## The Backward OX (Jul 24, 2010)

"If I found my WIP"

Wtf?


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## Like a Fox (Jul 24, 2010)

Oh stop being a pain. If I found the finished product of that book on a shelf, but it'd been written by someone else.


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## The Backward OX (Jul 24, 2010)

"What you love best" could be fishing or hat-blocking or bungee-jumping; this is why to me it's a meaningless remark.


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## RM Americano (Jul 24, 2010)

I had a professor who said it simple, "write what you care about."


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## The Backward OX (Jul 24, 2010)

But okay, let’s for a moment assume that I accept the hidden meaning - write what you love reading.

 I love reading about England and France.

 But I know f*ck-all about England and France; how then do I apply the other rule, the one that says “Write what you know?”


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## ash somers (Jul 24, 2010)

you could write about the god forsaken bull ant infested dust bowl that you live, perhaps?

but who would want to read it?


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## SevenWritez (Jul 24, 2010)

.


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## Ilasir Maroa (Jul 24, 2010)

They're not rules, NTO, they're suggestions.


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## The Backward OX (Jul 24, 2010)

SevenWritez said:


> .


 
Wow. That ocean sure shrank quickly. And I like that bit about re-shaping it.


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## qwertyman (Jul 24, 2010)

Moi and moi sofisticated Fraaanch fraaands. We laaake to read of zis plaaace wiz de bowl de dust. 

It's laaake Austria sans the oh-la-la nest pas? 

(pats ox on tete).


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## The Backward OX (Jul 24, 2010)

They have dust bowls in Austria?


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## Olly Buckle (Jul 24, 2010)

Do we belive Swift was writing about what he knew best when he wrote Gulliver? Should I confine my writing to my best beloved wife and children? OK we are not married, but you get the point  "Was there a gem hidden in those words or was it just an example of an empty vessel?" No and yes.


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## Baron (Jul 24, 2010)

Olly Buckle said:


> Do we belive Swift was writing about what he knew best when he wrote Gulliver?



Yes.  Gulliver's Travels is a political satire and Swift had his finger so firmly on the pulse that most of it is still relevant today.


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## qwertyman (Jul 24, 2010)

The Backward OX said:


> They have dust bowls in Austria?


 
'Ere in Fraaance we call it petanc or boule, I sink zey 'ave it but zey can't play it on ze sand porquoi zey don't 'ave any bitches.!


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## The Backward OX (Jul 24, 2010)

qwertyman said:


> 'Ere in Fraaance we call it petanc or boule, I sink zey 'ave it but zey can't play it on ze sand porquoi zey don't 'ave any bitches.!


 
Unlike Les Angleterres*. I recall Drake playing boules on the beach at Plymouth when the Spanish Armada came up the Channel.

*No relation to Les Patterson.


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## Divus (Jul 24, 2010)

Well the truth was that Drake wanted to chase the Spanish up the Channel rather than show them the way.

Being the kindly pirate that he was, Drake had worked it out that to get back to SPain the ships would have to sail round the Isle of Great Britain and Ireland, because the currents were going the wrong way.    So rather than having to kill those Senors in hot blood, Drake let them drown.   Which is what most of them did - no swimming pools back in those days where to learn how to swim in the sea wearing a metal breastplate, with a pointed steel hat whilst  carryng a sword. 
Sad really - if those Senors had landed in Plymouth, where the pirate had his lair, then, after one quick punch up, they could have walked to London.


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## SevenWritez (Jul 24, 2010)

The Backward OX said:


> Wow. That ocean sure shrank quickly. And I like that bit about re-shaping it.


 
I realized after writing it that the post came off as too belligerent; too open to a "Now wait _here_, mister," response from some. And I rather avoid drama on the internet. I remembered you once saying that you have a program/setting that allows you to see an original post even after it has been altered.

So, that said - MY WORK HERE IS DONE!


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## spider8 (Jul 25, 2010)

Back to the OP (write what you love best). Tressel cared about the poor which is why he wrote _The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists_. He was angry, outraged, obsessed. the same with Dickens and the poor. Perhaps the same with Harriet Beecher Stowe and slavery. Another example is George Orwell. Their passion has created world-changing, attitude changing books. Writing what you care about can give a book a bit of oomph, or a lot of it in these cases. Writing what you care about can give you direction.

Now, or but, if you're not impoverished, disabled, or some escapee, refugee, etc. If you're a person that wants to write about vampires or crime, you can still slip in things you care about. i.e. _The Silence of the Lambs_ by Thomas Harris is a crime/serial killer thriller but I would guess that Harris, though intrigued and fascinated by serial killers, is also compassionate enough towards the victims to guide him into slipping things like Starling losing her father at a young age, Starling trying to save that lamb from the slaughterhouse.

On another tack, writing what you care about could save you time on research if what you care about is horse racing (Dick Francis), or politics in the workplace (Magnus Mills).

Of course you don't _have _to write about anything though.


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## Divus (Jul 25, 2010)

'write what you love best'
Whilst scanning through threads on a writing forum, I at first wondered what this grammatically incomplete 'phrase' meant. But being relatively new to this group, I guessed it referred to some previous exchanges over the ether. I took it to mean 'write about what you know about and like the best' hinting that then what you will write will be the more readable.

If I write about dogs, I shall get a much better reception from a reader because there is something of me in the writing.
Similarly if I write about a horse named Joe then you, the reader will come to feel what I felt about him.
My writing about my present mare is different because I don't love her as I loved Joe, my previous gelding.

If I write about getting old, then you young folks will switch off. Ageing is no laughing matter. Sometimes I can swing it - but I have to be in a particular frame of mind. Being clever and witty about something unpleasant is not easy. Nevertheless I feel obliged sometimes to try it. 

If I write about 40s & 50s England, whilst you might feel curious, you will also feel depressed because England was such a dull depressing place in that era. If I write truthfully about my own family, it will make sad reading. There were so many failures.

There are still restrictons as to what we can write about sex, which in this modern liberated world is surprising. I've tried it once.

I can't see much future in writing about property speculation or trading, which was how I earned my living.

So what I take to be the meaning of the expression is that if you want to amuse readers with your writing - write about something which you know about and like - otherwise you have little chance of appealing to the emotions of the reader. And if you want to sell books, then your writing has to appeal to a paying customer, who in turn has to rave about the book.

For people like me, who don't really care about ever being published - that presents from time to time a problem because I will write about whatever comes into my mind - even if I don't feel comfortable with what I am thinking about at the time. But I don't need for the article to sell. Have you ever read George Orwell? His work sold decades later when he was dead but after he had been recognised as prophetic. But his writing is difficult prose to enjoy reading.

Now I write this note as a 'non-fiction' writer. If your pleasure is 'fiction', well, I do wonder if you can accept my viewpoint.


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## garza (Jul 25, 2010)

I've never written to amuse people. Over a third of my life has been taken up with writing about wars and rebellions. I don't like war, but from a writer's pov it has two points in its favour. One, it sells, and two, like it or not, it's the highest level of excitement we can find. Truth is, if I were a young man today I would be in Afghanistan, but, given recent events, I would already have in my hand the schedule of flights to Seoul. 

Now I write mostly about rural development, the problems faced by so-called 'third world' countries, the plight of urban youth, and organic gardening, and how all these seemingly disparate subjects dovetail. 

'Write what you know' is not necessarily good advice. 'Write what you want to find out about' is probably better. On my first trip to the East I knew almost nothing about the cultures, the politics, the people of southeast Asia. But I was young and immortal and curious. That curiosity, a notepad and pencil, and a Leica III-f were all I needed. 

Think about what you want most to _know_ about, and _write_ about that. (Just don't use too many -ly adverbs.)


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## Divus (Jul 26, 2010)

Garza - please explain '-ly verbs'


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## The Backward OX (Jul 26, 2010)

I think he said _ad_verbs.


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## Olly Buckle (Jul 26, 2010)

The Backward OX said:


> Unlike Les Angleterres*. I recall Drake playing boules on the beach at Plymouth when the Spanish Armada came up the Channel.
> 
> *No relation to Les Patterson.



You might play boules on a beach , but not bowls. They wouldn't roll.


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## qwertyman (Jul 26, 2010)

If ze bitches were rocky zey might bounce, if ze bitches were wet zey might roll. 


Sacre bleu! (dribble).

Are ze bitches on Phillip Island rocky or wet?

(M.Qwerty reaches for speedos)


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## Divus (Jul 26, 2010)

Blimey and  I thought  was perverse.


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## The Backward OX (Jul 26, 2010)

I 'ave 'eard ze bitches on Le Isle du Phillip are covered wiz penguins. Zere iss no reum for ze boules. bok bok.


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## Epic (Jul 28, 2010)

If "write what you care about" doesn't work, because caring doesn't necessarily imply you know anything about the subject, and "write what you know" doesn't work, because the story sometimes take us places that are impossible to know, I'd offer a simplification to the maxim: "Write."


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## Tom (Jul 29, 2010)

How about this: 'Love what you write'.

That way, it doesn't matter what s*** you write, as long as you personally love it in the end, you shouldn't give one.


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## ross (Jul 29, 2010)

Write whatever flows readily - whatever makes you passionate. Write and write as long as the flow is strong and, when it starts to ease off, spend the 3 weeks mercilessly hacking it to pieces!!!

Kill!!!

That might be just me of course...


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## Divus (Jul 29, 2010)

Quote: 'Then spend the three weeks mercilessly hacking it to pieces'.

The problem with that system - is that in the cutting process, the article loses the flavour, the smell, the emotion which was the original inspiration. 
The taste of the beef gets discarded with the fat in the cooking tray. So, you make the gravy with the liquid, but the gravy is to be poured over the top of the meat and the vegetables - and gets lost in the mashed potato on the plate. So you add mustard to the beef to give it back a flavour. 

Already with any writing, as against speaking, I lose the expression, the tone of voice, the hands, the hesitation, the grimace, the smile, the pitch, the emotion. If I am too correct, there is nothing left in the piece for the reader to pick up on.

Even today, replied to a young woman's post about her hesitation as to whether to proceed. At the end , I stopped and re-read what I had written and asked myself whether I should post it. But I knew if I re-read it too often, then I would in the end not push the button. So I immediatetly pressed 'post' - just in case I thought twice.


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## Foxee (Jul 29, 2010)

Divus, perhaps it is a matter of practice for you. Editing can be a gamble, I understand that, but sometimes lightning strikes twice and you end up with a much improved piece of work.

With your dog and pony stories so far I don't think there is much to change. Ash's comments about a word that is repeated often might be the extent of what you need to change. 

Risk a little bit and let's see where it goes.


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## ross (Jul 29, 2010)

I guess that is the art - knowing where not to trim. 

I can't stop the flow and correct as I go along without losing the flavour you mention. That means there is always something to mend, tweak and trim...

We all have our own ways, of course!


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## Foxee (Jul 29, 2010)

That's true, Monkey...I mean ross. Sorry, son's been watching Curious George and you may be a victim of your own avatar.


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## ross (Jul 29, 2010)




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## thewordsmith (Jul 29, 2010)

"Write what you love"? Well, I love my family, my kids, my sibs, my friends. But if that's all I wrote about, I'd bore the world silly and guarantee no agent would come near me! Oh! I also love Russia and Ireland and Germany and Mexico and Canada and ... and ... California and ... But, again, there is only so far you can go with that. I also love languages and the various nuances and fine tuning pronunciation and the parts of the face and mouth used to speak them. I used to say that, while other kids were collecting stamps and comic books and dolls, etc., I was collecting accents and dialects and languages. (Did you know the hearing impaired actually can 'speak' ASL with an 'accent'?) But, again, there's just so much you can write about that before you bore even yourself. 

But, being ADHD, many things move my soul and lead me to wonder and awe. So, just because you are - a francophile, say - it does not preclude borrowing from that passion, throwing a little of ... maybe your love of boats ... and writing about a guy who built his own boat while studying French, and sailed from Canada to France. 

I have never followed that 'write what you love' mantra. It's just an easy out for people who don't know what to say to give someone else guidance. I, more often than not, follow the 'write what moves your spirit' concept. It's more of a 'Write what loves you' more than a 'Write what you love'.


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## caelum (Jul 29, 2010)

I think things are being made out a little more semantic and complicated than they need to be.  Write what you want to write.  I don't think there's any more to the idea than that.


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## The Backward OX (Jul 29, 2010)

thewordsmith said:


> I, more often than not, follow the 'write what moves your spirit' concept.


I wonder, would it be reasonable to say that if nothing moves one's spirit, one is banging one's head against a wall in attempting to write?


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## caelum (Jul 29, 2010)

It sure hasn't stopped people from trying.  I've read some spiritless books.


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## Like a Fox (Jul 29, 2010)

So maybe the answer is look for _The Spiritless Books_ publishing company.


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## The Backward OX (Jul 29, 2010)

You can stay another week. I needed a good laugh after having just read my 'fan' mail.


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## thewordsmith (Aug 1, 2010)

The Backward OX said:


> I wonder, would it be reasonable to say that if nothing moves one's spirit, one is banging one's head against a wall in attempting to write?



Don't know. In my book, the two would be mutually exclusive. If nothing moves one, would one even be trying to write? 

Now, that does not preclude the possibility that a person may be moved to write simply because they have been moved to write in the past and have done well enough that they have become a known commodity and now they write simply because the spirit is moved by the desire for another paycheck or a desire to, once again, stroke the ego. Those would, indeed, be the ones writing spiritless books and, if you've read their works you might agree that they are banging their heads against a wall. Too often, after some passage of time, some writers, who may still love to write, have lost the passion for the 'game'. They can sit and stare at a computer screen and feel nothing - except maybe a passing moment of panic as they wonder if there is nothing to move the spirit as it did in the past.


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