Otherways- Fiction Fanatics

Typically, writers are seen as a solitary lot. In many cases, this isn't far from the truth. Spending hours of time involved with people and places of your own creation does tend to limit the amount of time left over for more social pursuits. The image of the poet in his drafty attic room or the novelist hunched over his keyboard may need a little modernization, but they aren't obsolete. This tendency, however, may not be in the best interests of anyone that wants to write well.

I'm not claiming that you can become a published author just by hanging out at the right parties, or even suggesting that ditching word count for martinis is a good idea. Instead, I would like to suggest that the purpose of fiction is to create another complete life for our readers to live. We are, collectively, granting our readers a kind of temporary immortality, allowing them to live life after life with impunity. If we are to do this, then we must be deeply immersed in life ourselves, or we will not give them lives worth living.

Although I would love to do it, I don't think most of our budgets will allow spending a couple of months kicking around Egypt to get a feel for the culture. While that would be amazing, it isn't necessary to the creation of a fresh new world. Research on climate, history, and culture can take the place of a first hand visit. That does not mean that all research should confine itself to books or data streams. If you want a world that feels real, you need to know what real feels like. 

That means stepping outside of your comfort zone. Actually do things that are unfamiliar, even challenging. When it comes to experience, don't stick with what you already know. Milk a cow, volunteer, learn another language, do whatever it takes to fill up that tool box of experiences, so that when you put your world on paper it actually breathes.

Additionally, remember that your world requires you to see from more than one point of view at any given moment. Find a group of people that you enjoy talking with, the more diverse the better, and let their inherent differences broaden the way you see things. Several writer's groups exist, some meet in person, others are virtual. If you live in a metropolitan area, there is a very good chance you will find a local writer's group meeting at the Municipal Library. If you'd prefer a virtual format,  you can access our newly formed group for writers on Facebook, also called Otherways. If you would prefer, there are a number of other active groups online, each with a different focus.

Cheers,

Michelle