Experience

Everything is still so new…

When I set out to create a website, I knew two things for certain: I wanted it to be a welcoming place where people could come learn about my books, and I wanted a blog. But I’ve never had a blog, so the first question that came to my mind was, “What the heck is this thing going to be about?”.

Writing was the obvious answer, but writing is about so much more than, well, writing. Which leads me to the focus of this blog post: experience.

Life Experience

Now, when I say ‘experience’, I don’t mean the same kind of experience you list on a resume. You don’t need a college degree in literature or creative writing to write. Similarly, you also don’t need years of editing, freelance, copywriting, or any other type of writing-related job. Those things are certainly helpful, but not needed. No, what I mean by experience is the kind you get by just… living life.

Culture, education, jobs, family dynamics, relationships, travel - all of these things (and more) provide each of us with a unique perspective on the world. These perspectives shape our experiences every day, and ultimately make us who we are.

Writers use these experiences to inform their writing. It could impact their writing style, their characters or settings, the socioeconomic systems or religions in their worlds, etc. It doesn’t always have to be a big impact, either. For example, both of my stories (The Way of the Wielder series and The Tredania Chronicles) feature cats, because I have two of my own who are always in need of attention, even when I’m writing (some days, especially when I’m writing).

For writers, these real world experiences transcend our personal lives. Every conversation we have, every meal we eat, every walk we take, all of it is potentially useful in a story, in some way. This is why I say writing is about so much more than writing. Because without these experiences, how do we fuel our imaginations?

Self Exploration

For some (dare I say, most) writers, the act of writing is also an experiment in self exploration. We create these fantasy worlds, then subject our characters to the cultures, elements, and challenges within them. As a result, not only do our characters grow and learn, but we grow and learn. It’s impossible for this to not happen, at some level. At least, it’s impossible for me.

I’ve learned much about myself as my characters navigate the challenges of their worlds. Perhaps I’ll dive into that more in a future blog post, or maybe I’ll make it the focus of an upcoming newsletter. There’s much to say on the matter.

Updates

As I mentioned above, this blog is still very new, so will ultimately continue evolving. One thing I want to include each time is an update on where I stand with projects. In the future, this will probably appear at the top, but it makes sense to place it here this time. So, without further ado…

Currently, I’m working on book three of The Way of the Wielder series, and will continue with that project for the foreseeable future. This past week, I began writing the interlude between parts one and two, and expect to complete that in a couple of days. After that, it’s onto part two - where the real fun begins.

Thanks for reading! Until next time, be well, and stay creative.

~Sarah