Posted on September 11, 2022 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Write what you know? Or make it all up?

Actually, you can do both (and probably should).

Author Margot Harrison has found it most rewarding and successful when she does just that.

For example, she explains, a world in which your future was determined by test scores was, in a way, something she knew — because she'd been incredibly anxious about taking the SAT.

This isn't to say that you might not need to research aspects of a character's background or personality that you don't share with them, of course, but don't constrain your creativity to the exact details of your own lived experience.

Harrison's thoughts on writing what you know and also making it all up are in a guest post for Writer's Digest.

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Categories: Behind the scenes

Comments
Thank you
Brenda | 9/13/22 at 5:10 AM
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