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The Writer is known as the bible for those in the publishing world. The pub has been around since 1887 and as managing editor Aubrey Everett says, “Despite writing trends that may come and go, The Writer has always stuck firm to the commitment to provide readers with practical advice and tips on the craft of writing.”

With 60 to 70 percent of the pub freelance written, there are plenty of opportunities for both well-established and newbie writers. The mag features a host of regular features open to freelancers, including:

• Off the Cuff – Share a personal essay about an aspect of being a writer in 1,000 words.
• Poet to Poet – A section devoted to writing poetry. Pieces run about 500 to 750 words.
• Writer at Work – A writer shares a story about a writing problem and how he or she overcame it. The 750- to 1,500-word section typically covers the fiction genre; it is only open to experienced writers.
• Write Stuff – Compose reviews of books and other products that writers may be interested in. The magazine enlists experienced book reviewers for this column; reviews run 500 to 750 words and includes excerpts.

For more on how to get your articles published in this pub, read: How To Pitch: The Writer.

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Is the advice “write what you know” valid? Yes, definitely. And no, not always.

It’s confusing advice!

Practical Knowledge

“Write what you know” makes sense when you’re ignorant in some area. For example, I know nothing about vampires, have never read a vampire book, can’t understand the whole vampire movie thing, and can’t for the life of me figure out why a blood-sucking boyfriend would be romantic. It’s just me.

This is the point though: I don’t know about vampires, and I have no business sitting down today to write a vampire novel. It would be so full of ridiculous ideas and mistakes that it would be laughable. I don’t care to look that foolish.

Use Yourself

On the other hand, says Ursula K. Le Guin in “Make your fiction truthful” (The Writer, July, 2010), “Write what you know doesn’t mean you have to know a lot. It just tells you to take what you have, take who you are, and use it. Don’t try to use secondhand feeling: use yourself.” So, does ”write what you know” mean “write exclusively about your personal experiences”?

No, I don’t think so. What you “know” can come from your personal experience–that’s true. But it also comes from other people’s experiences, from books you’ve read and movies that moved you, from research and travel–all blended together when you use your imagination.

The Best of Both Worlds

I believe in “write what you know,” but I’ve also had eleven mysteries published. I will swear to you that I’ve never stolen, kidnapped, set a place on fire, or blackmailed anyone, but I’ve written about it.

However, I made aspects of those stories familiar too. I set those mysteries in the midwest, where I lived all my life. Five are set in real places I’d visited many times. I used many people I knew for my characters. I developed themes that were coming true in my own life or my children’s lives. The character growth and change was real–and it was often me.

Get to Know Yourself

Le Guin says it this way: “If you take it in its deepest meaning, ‘write about what you know’ means write from your heart, from your own real being, your own thoughts and emotions…If you don’t know who you are and what you know, if you haven’t worked to find out what you yourself truly feel and think, then your work will probably be imitation work, borrowed from other writers.” (I hope you’ll get a copy of The Writer and read her entire article.)

You may not think you know much or have had enough interesting experiences, but you’d be wrong. If you have my Writer’s First Aid book, read the chapter on “Getting to Know You…” Take the lengthy survey about your life and keep the information in a writer’s notebook.

The answers to that survey will unearth enough information about YOU to last you a writer’s lifetime.