the power of writing

We don’t realise how much writing plays a part in everything we read. From the poorly written reports from the committees of sports and social clubs that are so often laced with offensive self congratulatory tones to the text of official reports, all of which hold a secret key to understanding if, and only if, you understand the sub culture. For years I’ve been one of a select few sought out by admin staff within my day job for help in filling out the all important “interview application” but only because I understand the technical language involved, and know how to use the right phrases to catch the eye of the reviewing panel because in my own time, I’ve sat on those panels.

If you understand something you can write about it. this holds true for many writers. We write about what we know, after all.

Does that preclude us from writing about what we don’t know about? It makes it more difficult, but background research can effectively any writer convey the details of a world they know little about.

But does a story need that level of detail? It really depends on a story.

Imagine a writer has a great idea for a romantic story and wants to base it in a certain period of history they know nothing about. Countless historical search engines can help with details of the period, the dress code, the look of the buildings, the people, the names…

If it’s science fiction or fantasy, the author can be forgiven for invention as long as the technology, social sciences and studies, anthropology of the society in which they write are reasonably accurate, but this merely poses another question more pertinent to this post:

What is science fiction, or fantasy, or indeed any genre anyway? What is a genre?

Someone in a message board a while ago posed the question “what is science fiction?”

I have always believed that Science Fiction is a story about people, lives, characters “set against” the background of a society that could be viewed within the science fiction milieu (whether futuristic or ulra-modern, with a nod to the other genres including steampunk, cyber punk etc)

Is the “science” part essential? Not really. If to a writer the story is important, the setting merely becomes the tapestry against which the story is played out. Whilst background information adds flesh to the bones of a story, it colours the sky and creates the world in which the story takes place, it does not replace the heart and soul of the story, told from the characters a writer creates.

Background material is important, yes: but how much background you need to be able to tell a story will depend on the circumstance of the plot.

It need not limit you from writing about a place, time, or genre in which you have little initial knowledge of.