No experience wasted
Two weeks ago I received a phone call from the police. "Would I like to speak to someone from victim support?"
What? Why would I want to do that? I had never been a victim in my life....
Except that I had. One hour before the phone call, I had discovered that someone had jacked up my car, dived underneath, sawn through my exhaust and stolen the 6-month old catalytic converter before disappearing into the ether. They had done it all in a busy car park, in the middle of the day, with passers by and three CCTV cameras watching, while I was shopping with my children in Meadowhall. I'd had no idea till the recovery mechanic I called (to figure out why my car suddenly sounded like a motorbike) told me so.
These thieves had introduced me to a role I don't recall ever playing before: the role of a victim. I didn't choose it and I didn't like it.
Ever one to look for a silver lining, I sat in my car, waiting for recovery (again) and wondered if this new experience might make me a better writer? Perhaps one day I will be able to create a character who is a victim and I can draw on this experience. Or at the very least, I could get a blog out of it.
Here's an interesting question: does a writer have to experience something in order to write about it? Isn't that the reason why writers go on cruises and travel to exotic locations and eat local cuisine and climb mountains and sip coffee in plazas... and why they interview interesting people and spend hours in libraries... so they they can write convincing fiction about new topics they've never personally experienced before?
I'd love to know, what's the best (or worst) thing you've ever done in the name of research?
Despite the inconvenience and exhaustion and expense that this relatively minor stint into victimhood has brought me, I am ever thankful for the small ways I saw God at work that day. I am thankful that my husband was able to pick up the kids and take them home (and to the hairdressers) so they didn't have to spend all 6 hours with me in the car park. I'm thankful that my phone battery was fully charged so I could spend 3 hours talking to all the people necessary - husband, recovery, husband again, insurance, police, recovery again, the hairdressers, the person who was waiting for me to drop off some books at her house, husband, recovery. And wonder of wonders, I was so thankful that the person waiting for the bags of books happened to be parked 20 metres away when I called her! Otherwise those books would still be in the boot of my not-yet-fixed car.
Yes, in the life of a writer, no experience is wasted. Having said that, the role of a victim is not one I hope to spend any more time researching.
Joanne Gilchrist is mother of 3 and runs the charity, Ruach Resources, which is the home of God for Kids app and the Animals of Eden Valley children's books. She also wrote the autobiographical "Looking for Love", "Next Steps to Following Jesus" for children and freelances for the SunScool app.
Lovely post Joanne, thanks! To answer your question, I think it is very possible to write fiction without any experience or research! I have successfully tried it!! However, I have written fiction borne from true life experience. It is alive and more convincing. As for your experience as a 'car park victim', our God is always faithful and in our writings as well. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteGreat post - I especially loved your wonder of wonders. Isn’t God great?
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Joanne. I agree that no experience is ever wasted. As a former police officer, I dealt with many victims of crime, and it was all in a day's work. One day I became a victim of crime myself. Nothing serious, just a theft of my bicycle wheels, but I can still remember how it made me feel, and that made me a better officer. The irony was that whilst the wheels were being nicked, I was inside the bike shop buying a puncture kit, which I no longer needed!
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