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I
Went to College for This?
By Lisa Barker
I went to one of the most elite college preparatory high schools in the United
States. I got in on an academic scholarship but that did not deter me from my
dream in life: to marry and raise a family-- and to write about it.
Well, okay, when I was fifteen I wanted 15 kids and I wanted to write romances.
I didn't realize at the time how much work it took to conceive and bear
children and I didn't realize I'd end up writing what I know best. Romance?
No. Surviving five children? YES!
All the proper English they tried to impress upon me went out the window with my
degree in creative writing. I developed a voice. It is not the voice of the
highly educated. It is the voice of a harried mother pecking out a weekly
column in between
tattletales, spilled milk, dirty diapers, and cat vomit.
How glorious is that?
Write what you know. That is the mantra of all good writers, but what does it
mean? I don’t believe we can know the answer to that until we develop a
voice. Whether you write fiction or not you have to have a voice, you have to
have something to say and you have to know what you are writing about.
It isn’t enough to pluck prose from the air intuitively. Some conscious part of
your brain has to be both a director and an editor. You have to keep those
characters and words in line and you have to move the reader from one place to
another.
In all honesty, my voice did not develop until I started writing about my
passion and that, for me, is my family. I love what I do as a mom and I write
about it. Okay, I don’t always love what I do, but I can turn it into a
funny column that lifts other parents from the pits of parenting and isn’t that
what all writers want to do? Don’t we want to grab our readers by the heart (or
gut) and cast spells on their emotions?
When we write what we know we can evoke emotion, or empathy, in others. We can
inspire, encourage, and motivate them. We can change their perspective. We can
cause tears of sorrow and laughter. This is because we are writing from a
universal base-- something all people can relate to on some level or another.
I’ve written novels and short stories. I love dialogue. But my writing mentor
pointed out that my voice wasn’t reflecting my education (college degree). She
said I had a voice befitting the books written for the supermarket checkout
line. Ouch!
But she was right. My voice IS the voice of those that pass through the
checkout line. I AM one of those people. And now that I am writing what I know
and what I am most passionate about, I have an audience. Is there any better
job in the world? Does it get any more glorious than that?
Write what you know; know thyself, discover thy passion and share that passion
with others. Write.
Lisa Barker writes the syndicated weekly parenting humor column, "JellyMom."
To visit her website, go to
http://www.jellymom.com.
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