Write what you know and how you like to write

At almost every conference and workshop I have been to, as an "emerging writer" they say "write what you know". "Write the story you need to tell."

And then, in the next breath they tell you what they want to see in a manuscript and how they want you to write it.

Confusing? You bet.

I always reckon that everyone has at least one story they want to tell and NEED to tell. So why not tell it? AB Facey wrote "A Fortunate Life" for his family. It was his memoir and he had a small print run done. And now it's an Australian Classic.

But, one of the biggest traps for young writers is they try and take every good idea they ever had and try to jam it into their first book/manuscript.

Recently I have been led to read a few "experimental" type books and short stories that found publication. I have also had the opportunity to research the number of different authors who had multiple rejections for books that are now considered ground-breaking or classic eg. Dune, Catch-22 (rejected 22 times, hence the name), The Hobbit, Harry Potter just to name a few.

So, the moral is, write what you know, write the way you want to write (develop your own "voice") BUT write it well. Someone will like it. Not everyone will like it.

Keep writing!