Write About Where You Know
When I applied for my MA in Creative Writing almost twenty years ago, a portfolio of work had to be included. This could be fiction (excerpts of a longer piece or short stories), poetry or plays. I wasn’t much of a short story writer at that point and had given up poetry. I may have submitted a play, but I definitely submitted part of a novel I was working on. I remember this clearly because of the advice I received in response. It has stayed with me, although I didn’t always follow it.
The novel was nothing special, in fact it was never finished for reasons worthy of another article, but it taught me something of incredible value. I don’t even remember the title, although I’m sure it was eminently pretentious. I do, however, remember what it was vaguely about and, as was to prove more important, where it was set. The novel was about three very different drama graduates (write about what you know, they say) finding their way post-university. There was a love triangle, an unexpected pregnancy and an illness. It was set in London. I had never lived in London and my visits were focused on museums and theatres meaning my knowledge was that of a tourist. It showed.
“Why,” asked poet Stephanie Norgate, the excellent leader of the MA at Chichester, “did you set it in…
