On Wed, 14 May 2003 08:57:02 EDT BardMock{at}aol.com writes:

> Then there's the experience of those who came before us.  Old saws 
> like 
> "write what you know" and "Gain experience before
writing".  I have 
> a friend 
> who thinks I need a wild life like Hemingway to be a good writer.  A 

Only, im*V*ho, if you want to write a wild life convincingly enough to
fool the people who live wild lives, not just imagine what they may be
like.

Even then there are those who can "fake it" -- and do so all the time.
Vicarious living.... the writers' trade.

> Experience is the greatest teacher.  

maybe not the Greatest, but it's no slouch (though the weight of it might
do trouble to YOUR posture).

The marvel of being human, however, is we can learn a LOT from OTHER
people's experience.....

So "write what you know" does tend to have a few caveats trailing along.

-B

====
Yes, I'm The Great Pretender. I live in a fog of forget. --Jeanie
Linders; "Menopause the Musical"
====
An ounce of mother is worth a pound of preachers. --Spanish Proverb

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