Improbable Press Blog — Encouragement
Why Write What You Know Also Means Write What You Don't
Atlin Merrick Encouragement Natalie Conyer
Write what you know. Before I get to the debate I had with award-winning crime novelist Natalie Conyer on the ridiculous advice above, I'm flapping my arms over a lovely example of why you should write what you don't know: Úna Woods' Have You Seen the Dublin Vampire? Look at that cover! People rushing across Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge, while a glorious vampire in full regalia stands in their midst. Why I find this book a sweet encapsulation of write what you don't know (while building from what you do) is that Woods set her story in and around Dublin –...
Three Trick Questions About 'Cheating'
This is inspired by a Neil Gaiman blog post and something I wrote for the Spark writing/fandom newsletter, and it's about cheating. But first, the three trick questions: Did Shakespeare cheat when he wrote real person fic about Richard III and Henry V? How about Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, Stephenie Meyer, or the hundreds of others who've made bank writing books about vampires? Did the Disney animators cheat when they paid people to model for their animations? Did all the winners of the Great British Bake-Off cheat when they adapted recipes they learned from cookbooks? These are all trick questions...