Write What You Know

I recently heard Dean Minnich speak about his life as a newspaper reporter, storyteller and author at the Carroll County Public Library. He also discussed his new book What Price Eden.

I am sure that through the years, he heard the writing advice, “write what you know.” However, Dean may have done that too well, as people keep telling him they know where his latest book takes place and recognize many of the people.

Although he protests that his book is fiction. It takes place in a fictional location with fictional people. But people identify with his characters, places and problems.

Dean wrote what he knew, but like most writers, he changed things. Buildings, businesses and people seem familiar because variations of them are here and in many American small towns. So are the problems. We can understand the problems and the emotions that surround them.

Dean was a journalist so it is not surprising that the town’s newspaper plays a large part in What Price Eden, as several people fight greed, corruption and murder to save unspoiled land and a family legacy.  

He worked for both the Hanover Evening Sun and the Carroll County Times, was a writer in the Navy and a freelance writer. He has published two books of his columns, three novels and a non-fiction book on the towns and villages of Carroll County, Maryland.

I worked with Dean many years ago at the Carroll County Edition of the Hanover Evening Sun. Then a daily community newspaper that had more than 80 percent of the county’s circulation.

Before becoming a reporter for the Hanover Evening Sun, I had written a “Man on the Street” column, a column about Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) and a few other articles for the Carroll County Times.

After moving to Mountain Maryland, I became a journalist again, writing for the area daily newspaper, the Cumberland Times-News, and winning several awards. I was thankful of the skills I had learned working with Dean, Al Starner, Gladys Wimert and Donna Boller.

Elizabeth Houck enjoying
What Price Eden

Dean mentioned that he received his education working on newspapers. I feel the same way. I loved learning new things, covering festivals, government, education, historic preservation, health initiatives, and even emergencies.

There was always something new to learn. I learned and I wanted to share that information with our readers. Having people tell me they enjoyed my article or learned about a program that helped them was rewarding. It was also wonderful to meet so many different people.

Recently, I have been experimenting with different types of writing. I finished a middle grade novel about several children trapped in a blizzard and am approximately two-thirds finished a novel about young people helping with historic preservation in their hometown.

As Dean said, It's fun to tell your own lies, to have things happen your way.

Let your imagination transform your ordinary world into an Eden or a moon base. I am still new at creating my own worlds and characters, but I find it fun and challenging.

I am writing what I know, but also changing it, making it exciting, and hopefully conveying information while telling an interesting story. I’ve even introduced a ghost into one story. Now I have never met a ghost; but “what if” I had a chance to meet an ancestor’s spirit.  How would I act? What would I do?  What would my characters do?

Writing what we know is important, but that doesn't mean we can't continue to learn more and have more information and experience to use in our stories.

Note to writers:

Dean Camlin as William Winchester and Dean Minnich

I was so excited after hearing Dean speak about his newest book, I went home, read it and started this blog. However, I knew he soon was to interview William Winchester, founder of Westminster, MD (portrayed by Dean Camlin) at another library presentation. So I decided to hold this and combine the two events. Then I let Christmas celebrations interfere and the urgency and enthusiasm for this blog dimmed slightly.

Although I decided to finish this blog, I am not conveying the enthusiasm I felt at these events. This is an example of why we need to write regularly, not put it off until we feel we will have more time or wait until inspiration strikes.

When we have a passion to communicate something, we need to go for it, right then, before much of what we want to say fades and may be lost forever.

An Extreme Novelist

Kathryn Johnson, an author of 40 published novels, started our writing year off with a bang at the January meeting of the Carroll County chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association.

An instructor at The Writing Center in Bethesda, MD, she has her students sign a contract to complete the draft of a complete novel in eight weeks. She encourages them to write at least 90 minutes a day for six days a week. The purpose is to establish a routine. That hopefully will develop into a habit if practiced for at least eight to 10 weeks.

Kathryn Johnson and Kerry Peresta

The Rule of 10,000 shows that practice is more important than having a gift or talent. A study of violinists showed that those who practiced at least 10,000 hours at their craft were the ones who became the most successful. So keep practicing, keep trying to write better and you will get better.

Many people like to write in the morning, when their brain is clear. It is easier for the subconscious to engage before we get busy with other every day events, she told the writers and  writers-to-be at the meeting. Write whenever you can. Find your most creative time and use it.

If necessary, write in small bits, such as waiting at the doctor’s office, or when small children are asleep. Find areas that help you create, such as the library, coffee houses or quiet rooms in your home. Many people can’t write at home because there are too many distractions. You can portion your writing time throughout the day.

Writing your novel will be easier if you have a basic outline or plan. It helps you to keep things straight. You need a beginning, middle and end. You need to know your characters and the book genre.

Don’t worry about writing well in the beginning, just get the first draft of your novel down. If you start to edit your work, your controller will kick in (telling you that you are wasting time, cheating your family, not writing well, or that it is not important).

“Get the whole thing down,” she recommended. Don’t look back. You are only allowed to write forward. You can write notes on the rough manuscript of areas that need more work or keep a journal of additional ideas and details you want to add to the earlier parts of the novel. After you have completed the basic novel, then it is time for revision.

In a nutshell, the basic process is:

1                     preparation

2                     rough draft

3                     revision

Her most recent book is The Gentleman Poet.  Search for more information at her website: www.writebyyou.com.