Photo courtesy of Matt Champlin via Flickr
My kids love to play this great app called Stack the States. It’s a fun way to learn the names of the United States, where they belong on the map, capitals, flags and fun bits of trivia. The longer they play the game, the greater their awareness for the size and scope of our great nation. Every time Alaska flashes on the screen, they cheer and inform me they “got Alaska”.
I appreciate their enthusiasm for my home state. They’ve started asking questions about Alaska and flipping through my old photo albums. Sometimes I take my unique childhood for granted. Then a new character springs up in my manuscript and I realize he or she is partially a product of my life experience. As writers, we’re told to write what we know … right?
While every writer thinks they have a corner on the market, the reality is that there’s ‘nothing new under the sun’. In fact, the romance novel industry has a handful of tropes that readers consistently demand: cowboys, Amish themed novels, ‘secret’ babies and reunion romances. In a different vein, Alaska still tops the list of intriguing settings. I think the plethora of reality TV shows based in Alaska speaks to the fact that it still captures people’s attention.
Even though there’s a variety of books based in Alaska, both romance and otherwise, I’m going to keep writing the story that’s in my heart and draw on my unique life experience to fuel my word-wrangling.
Write what you know. I mean it.
