Tag: writing experience

I am not a very physically adventurous person. You won’t see me running any marathons, climbing Mount Everest, or parachuting out of a plane. The truth is, I’ve had serious back problems since I was about twelve. That was when a drunken Boob Fairy visited me in the night and couldn’t remember how many times she’d hit me with her wand. I fear there are a lot of flat-chested girls out there who never got their turns that night.

After I had kids, the Ass and Belly Fairies came by in a well-meaning, but poorly conceived attempt to even out my proportions. Thanks guys. I appreciate your help. Didn’t help my back any, but at least I don’t need to buy dresses that are four sizes bigger on the top than on the bottom.

All this is to explain that I do not try a lot of daring or adventurous things for the sake of my writing. No martial arts classes, no standing in a field learning to aim and fire a gun, and no jarring car chases in the name of research.

But none of those things show up in what I write (so far), so it doesn’t matter.

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Writers are often encouraged to “experience” life in an effort to make their work more compelling. Well, experience doesn’t always mean living through a tragedy or performing some heart-stopping thrill. Some experiences are more … sedate.

When I was in high school — back before the Internet Age — my English teacher tasked the class to encounter a new experience and write about it. He provided a long list of suggestions and said he would be willing to entertain other ideas.

Now, my life up to that point had been pretty sheltered. I hadn’t traveled much. I had yet to land my first job. And my idea of a big weekend was going to the mall on Friday night and hanging out at the arcade. In short, my life was pretty devoid of new experiences.

I had planned to spice it up by asking my parents to let me attend a wrestling match in Kansas City. I figured the visceral experience in the ring would be equally matched by the rabid fans in the cheap seats. I wanted to be a part of something truly outside my comfort zone.

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