It’s Time to Re-examine ‘Write What You Know’

“Write what you know” is a phrase constantly repeated to aspiring writers. This simple piece of advice aims to help writers stay within the parameters of what they know so they can focus on the quality of their writing rather than accurately conveying an unfamiliar experience. 

Recently, however, this simple adage has evolved into something larger. The multitudes of misrepresentations of ethnic characters in fiction are being called out more and more, especially regarding the misrepresentation of cultures the author is unfamiliar with, which has become a hot-button issue in the literary world.

The reason for the blatant disregard of the negative impact of stereotypes is typically attributed to white authors writing characters of different backgrounds. These instances have contributed to a growing sentiment authors shouldn’t explore beyond their own experience to avoid making these kinds of mistakes. 

However, this mindset could prove to be stunting. Claiming an author’s individual experience is the only thing they have credibility over is contradictory to the core of writing. Writing, in essence, is a creative endeavor and an opportunity to learn and explore how people relate to each other’s lived experiences. 

The “write what you know” motto is, “the reverse of firing the imagination and potential of writers,” as according to Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro in an interview with ShortList.

Through researching and interacting with individuals who have lived drastically different lives, the end product of a writing project can be rewarding both in subject matter and in the experience for the author. Because of this, authors should be encouraged to venture into different cultures and traditions, as long as it’s in a respectful manner.  

Although the direction to write within the bounds of lived experience is mostly aimed at white authors, it has its own damaging implications for authors of color, suggesting they should only be writing about experiences related to their identity. 

This can limit them to reliving the traumas they undergo constantly, restricting them from exploring a fictional space which could be an escape from the prejudice in their daily lives. 

Rebecca F. Kuang, author of “Yellowface” and “Babel” reiterated this sentiment in an interview with The Guardian. 

“It gets wielded as a double-edged sword against marginalized writers, to pigeonhole them into only writing about their marginalized experiences,” Kuang said. 

The topic of insensitive portrayals in fiction can’t be dismissed. Characters like J.K. Rowling’s Cho Chang and Stephanie Meyer’s Jacob Black perpetuate stereotypes and cause harm to the public perception of marginalized groups.  

However, the problem isn’t necessarily with people writing characters from different backgrounds, but rather with the author themselves. These misrepresentations didn’t come about because the author decided to write outside of their comfort zone — they arose as a result of pre-existing bias.

The issue truly resides in how these authors have been allowed to express their narrow minded views — not in authors’ abilities to explore different perspectives. 

People are fully capable of respectfully listening to the experiences of others and incorporating them into a story. Claiming this isn’t possible gives authors a free pass to say they don’t have the capability to learn and incorporate diversity in their fiction.