Lights. Curtain. Dancers, take your place. Cue music for the greatest show to begin.
A few weeks back, 6 months of work culminated in the 50th anniversary dance showcase at the studio I’ve attended since 2009. It’s in my hometown, just down the street from the stadium where the World Cup ⚽️ is being played! (And my dad’s house.)
Now if you’ve never performed on stage, Reader, here’s a small taste…
It’s sequins and sweat. Runs in your tights and running to grab your prop in time to reenter the stage on cue. It’s bruises and bows. Ankle braces and applause for a job well done.
It’s the exhilarating thrill of propelling yourself into a spin, balanced on nothing but a few inches of flesh and bone. And praying to everything sacred that you don’t fall on your face.
And it’s a lot like writing a novel.
You spend half a year crafting a work of art before presenting it to the world. And whether your audience fills the plush seats of a theater or walks among the shelves of a bookshop, you’ll be anxious as to whether all your hard work will pay off.
It’s a feeling I know well.
I first stepped onto a stage at 4 for a tap performance. All of us dressed as little sailor ducks, complete with little orange webbed feet over our tap shoes.
The call of “5, 6, 7, 8…” The bright glare of stage lights. The scratch of sequins across skin… Decades later, they’re things I know as well as brushing my teeth. 🪥
When it comes to writing, you’re routinely told: “Write what you know.” But that advice can often feel too vague to be helpful. So instead…
Here’s 3 Real World Examples of how I Used What I Knew in my own stories:
1) Art Imitates Life
I’ve spent the majority of my life dancing and performing on a stage. As I mentioned, I started dancing when I was 4 and was in 25 musicals between the ages of 8-18.
I’ve used what I learned and experienced from countless rehearsals and stage performances in my novel Predestined, and a short story I wrote for a Romance anthology. (I’m updating and expanding it into a novella called A Dance of Fallen Stars.)
I also went to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where I went on to graduate with a BFA in Illustration. I used some of my experiences during the 3 years I went there for various scenes in my Marked Ones Trilogy.
Including one in which the lead character, Patrick, and his best friend Connor end up at the SF MOMA, completing one of the same finals I had to do for 20th Century Art History. The two make humorous commentary about the art while discussing other events that are currently going on in the plot.
NOTE: Have you spent your life training in a particular sport, skill, or hobby? You can use that expertise and experience in your stories. Real-world experiences from school, life, or work can also make an excellent framework for a scene in a story.
2) Road Trip Research
Every out-of-town wedding or visit with family can become a research trip for your next story if you plan right. That’s exactly what I did when I traveled to Oregon in August of 2017.
Originally, we were going to see the eclipse and visit my husband’s family. However, the town of McMinnville—about an hour away—became the inspiration for Corbeauvale, the main setting in my novel Predestined.
And various little shops and locations throughout rural Oregon on subsequent trips, have inspired settings in short stories from Walk Me Home and my other upcoming story projects.
NOTE: Even small mom-and-pop shops can be found on Google Maps and Yelp nowadays, so you can fill in your research long after you return home from your trip. And don’t forget to check out those free travel brochures they have in the lobby of your hotel!
3) I’m afraid. Are you?
Until 2021, I suffered from a severe, debilitating needle phobia. So severe, in fact, that even seeing a needle on TV could trigger a panic attack.
It started when I was 17 with just a mild aversion. But it continued until the prospect of getting an injection or blood draw triggered my fight and flight at the same time. 🙀
So in 2019, I decided to enter Stanford’s behavioral therapy program. By the time the COVID vaccine came out, I was ready to receive mine. 👍
However, back when I wrote my Marked Ones Trilogy, I was still uncured, so I used that overwhelming fear of needles for my character Patrick. A lot of the reactions he has are ones I would have had in the exact same situations.
NOTE: Do you have any extreme fears or phobias? You can translate those feelings to your characters to make them feel more authentic and real to readers. Or maybe you have a real-world illness or disability?
Well, Reader, I hope these examples give you plenty of ideas for using what you know for all your future stories. Until next time, this is your friendly neighborhood storytelling Kat wishing you a wonderfully creative weekend.
Your cohort in storytelling,
Kat Vancil
🐱
PS 👉 Try this writing prompt: Scroll through your photos from a recent trip or event and select 1. Now set a 500-word scene in that location.
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Jessie Walker Author
Jessie Walker is an indie author of queer love stories based out of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she lives with her long-time partner and fur-spawn. Drawn to all things dark and twisted, she likes to pretend she's not the hopeless romantic at heart that she is. She has ADHD and a background in psychology/mental health services, both of which contribute greatly to her storytelling and the themes of her long-winded, character-driven works. When she's not drudging away at a keyboard, there's a very good chance you'll find her vegged out on her couch, listening to sad '90s grunge, and day dreamin’ about the all the stories crowding her brain. |
