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Writingwhatyouknow

Introduction

Thisunitincludesreadingandwritingactivitiesthataregearedtodevelopingthe
useofmemory,observationandthesenses.Theaimistodevelopyour
perceptualabilities,honingyourcapacitytoseedetailintheworld.Youwillbe
encouragedtostartseeingthefamiliarinanewwayandtomakegooduseof
yourownpersonalhistory.

LearningOutcomes

Afterstudyingthisunityoushould:

beabletoarticulateyourownthoughtsonthenotionofwritewhatyou
know;
beequippedtowriteblinddescriptionsofknownobjectsandnotenew
observations;
haveanenhancedabilitytolistsensoryperceptions;
beabletowriteshorttextsaboutapersonalmemoryofeitheraplaceora
character.

1Writingwhatyouknow

1.1Usinglifeexperiencesinyourfiction

Creativewritingcoursesandmanualsoftenoffertheadvicewritewhatyou
know.Thisisundoubtedlygoodadvice,yetwhatexactlydoesitmean?Many
writerstestifytousingtheirlifeexperiencestheirmemoriesandtheireveryday
perceptionsasasourcefortheirfictionorpoetry,aswellasfortheir
autobiographiesandmemoirs.Yettheseexperiencesaren'tnecessarily
extraordinaryinthemselves.Youdon'thavetohaveledanunusualorexoticlife
inordertowrite.Youdo,however,needtoraiseyourlevelofperceptionabove
theordinary.Writingwhatyouknowmeansbeingawareofyourownworld,
bothpastandpresent,inasfullawayaspossible.

Thisunitwillintroduceandbrieflyelaborateonsomeofthewaysinwhichyou
mightknowtheworldaroundyou.Bylookingatthecommonplacedetailsof
yourlifeinadifferentway,usingyoursensoryperceptionsandlearningtouse
yourownmemories,youwillbeexercisingcertainwritingmuscles,onesthat
needregularflexing.Inthiswayyoumaydiscoveryouknowmorethanyou
thought.

Activity1

Writedownaquicksentenceinresponsetotheadvicewritewhatyouknow.
Whatdoesitimmediatelysuggesttoyou?

Nowreadthediscussion

Activity2

Thepurposeofthisactivityistoprovideyouwithanexampleofhowaknown
writerhasexploitedhiseverydayknowledgeandmemoriesinhiswork.Clicking
onthelinkbelowwillallowyoutolistentoanextractofaninterviewwith
AndrewCowan,awriterandseniorlecturerinCreativeWritingattheUniversity
ofEastAnglia.Belowissomebackgroundinformationyoumayfindofinterest.

PigwasAndrewCowansfirstnovel,anditwonnumerousawards,includingthe
BettyTraskAwardandtheSundayTimesYoungWriteroftheYearAward.
Publishedin1994,itsmeticulousrealismreceivedgreatcriticalacclaim.The
novelhasobviousconnectionstoCowansownbackgroundithasaScottish
grandfatherandissetinanewtownindeclineverysimilartoCorby,Cowans
hometown.Hehassubsequentlypublishedtwoothernovelsandatthetimeof
theinterviewhisfourthnovel,WhatIKnow,wasabouttobepublished.The
novelsdiscussedintheinterviewarePig(1994),CommonGround(1996)and
Crustaceans(2000).

Pig

Whenhisgrandmotherdiesandhisgrandfathergoesintoahome,teenager
Dannyisdeterminedtolookaftertheirelderlypig.Heandhisgirlfriend,
Surindersecretlymeetatthegrandparentshouse,enjoyingafragilesummer
idyll,arefugefromtheracistneighboursandfamilymembers,briefrespitefrom
theblightednewtowninwhichtheylive.

CommonGround

Ashley,adisillusionedgeographyteacher,chroniclesthebirthofhisdaughter,
Maggie,inletterstohisglobetrottingbrother,Douglas.Paintinganintimate
pictureofhisrelationshipwithhispartner,Jay,thenoveloffersableakpictureof
innercitylife,andthecouplesgrowingneedforsomesortofpolitical
involvement.Itcomesintheformoftheroadprotestmovement:thenovelalso
chartsthecontroversialbirthofaroadandthecampaigntosavethenearby
HogsleaCommon.

Somequestionstothinkaboutwhileyoulisten:

HowdidtheideaforCowanssecondnovel,CommonGround,come
about?
WhatpartsofPigwereimagined,whatpartsresearchedandwhatparts
autobiographical?
HowdoesCowanuseeverydaydetailsinhisnovels?

Cowan,Andrew(1994)Pig,London:Sceptre.

Cowan,Andrew(1996)CommonGround,London:Penguin.

Cowan,Andrew(2000)Crustaceans,London:Sceptre.

Cowan,Andrew(2005)WhatIKnow,London:Sceptre.

ClickbelowtolistentoaninroductiontoAndrewCowan.

2Theeveryday

2.1Buildingabelievableworld

Writingisaperceptualart,oneinwhichimagesarecreatedvialanguageinorder
forthereadertomakemeaning.Itisthereforeimperativethatthewriter'spowers
ofperceptionarealert.Writingisaprocessofbecomingaware,ofopeningthe
sensestowaysofgraspingtheworld,waysthatmaypreviouslyhavebeen
blocked.Oftenwetaketheworldaroundusforgranted,wearesoimmersedin
habit.Allofourlivescontainrelativedegreesofroutine.Wegotosleep,weeat,
wegotowork.Thethingswemaychoosetowriteaboutwillalsocontain
repeatedandhabitualelements.Howmanytimeshaveyoucomeacrosstheword
usuallyinstoriesandnovels,orphrasessuchaseverydayandeveryyear?
Howmanytimesdoyoureadaboutmeals,orotherdailyroutineslikedressing,
lookinginthemirror,goingout,comingin?Theseareonlyafewofthemany
designatorsofhabitualpatternsofbehaviour,givingtheimpressionoflife
passinginaroutinefashion.Takenoutofcontextsuchdetailsmightbe
uninteresting,butinfacttheyareinvariablythepartsofthewritingthatbuilda
worldforthereader.Thisworldisbelievablebecauseitappearstohaveexisted
beforethereaderstartedreadingaboutitandwillcontinueonafterwards.
Activity3

Closeyoureyesforafewmomentsandthinkoftheroomorplacearoundyou.
Thinkofthedetailsthatyouwouldincludeinanydescriptionandmakeamental
noteofthem.Openyoureyesand,withoutlookingaround,writedownwhatyou
thoughtof.

Nowlookatyoursurroundingsandwriteaparagraph(nomorethan150words)
describingthem,pickingoutatleastthreethingsthatyouhaven'tnoticed
recentlythingsyoudidn'tthinkofwhenyouclosedyoureyes.

Nowreadthediscussion

2.2Collectingandselecting

Writersarealwaysonthealertforpotentialmaterial.Anotebookisanessential
toolforanywriterandhasseveralfunctions.Theserangefromthejottingdown
ofobservationswhileyoureoutandabouttoanaccountofdailyevents,your
rantsandraves,ideasforpoems,singlewords,clippingsfromnewspapers,
responsestobooksorpoemsyouveread,notesfromresearch,allkindsof
gathering.Yournotebookisforyou,anditneedstocontainwhateverhelpsyou
orfuelsyourwriting.

Amajorsourceofpotentialmaterialisyourownlifewhatyousee,experience,
think,andfeel.Therefore,itisimportanttogoaboutyourdailybusinesswith
youreyesopenandallyourothersensessimilarlyalert.Accumulatedetailsabout
theworldaroundyou.Forinstance,usinganimaginaryscenario,youmight
noticehowthemanalongtheroadtwitcheshiscurtains,howhewearscolourco
ordinatedclothes,usuallybutnotalwaysgreen.Notethemelancholictoneofhis
voiceandhowhegoestothepostofficeeveryMondayat9.30am,accompanied
byhisneighbourwhooftenwearsapurplesari.Youmightnotehowtheywalk
fasterastheypassthegraffitionthefactorywallandoftensmileattheElvis
livessloganthatsomeonehasdaubedontheadjoiningfence.Youmightnote
how,atthepostoffice,theybothchattoamanwithawhiteScottie,adogwho
snarlsatmostpassersbywhenheistiedtotherailingsoutsidetheshop,butnot
atthemanandhisneighbour.

Bynotingsuchdetailsyouarecollectingmaterialsthatyoumightuselaterin
yourwriting.Intheimaginaryscenarioabove,wehavealmostformeda
narrative.Attimesyoumightdothis,atothertimesyoumightbemorearbitrary
andfragmentedinwhatyougather,writingdownarangeofdissimilar
observations:theweather,acharacterdescription,anoverheardturnofphrase.
Youdon'tneedtomakecompletesentencesorconnectitallintoasequence;you
couldmakealistofbulletpoints.Inwhateverform,collectingservestorevivea
certaindetailedwayofseeingtheworld:howyoumighthavegraspedtheworld
asachild.

Perceptionisalwaysaselectivefaculty.Youwillnotbeabletoseealland
everythinganeweachandeveryday.However,youcanusetacticstokeep
yourselfalert:crossovertheroadandwalkonadifferentside,orsitinachair
thatyoudon'tusuallyuse.Itisimportanttodevelopaninvestigativeattitudeto
yourownenvironment,tolookatthingsfromaslightlydifferentangle,andto
searchforthepreviouslyunnoticed.Eventually,whencomingtowriteyourstory
orpoem,youwillrealisethat,likeperception,writingisalsoselective.Youwill
pickthedetailstobeincludedandexcluded:whichdetailactsasauseful
repetition,andwhichdetailmightberedundant.Youcan'tpickandchooseifyou
haven'tgatheredenoughinformationinthefirstplace.

Inourscenarioabove,forinstance:themanatthepostofficewiththedogmight
havefluffywhitewhiskersjustlikehiswhiteScottiethisisarelatively
significantandamusingdetail.Thesamemanmightwearaplaincolouredtie,
whichislessinterestinginformation.Eachpieceofwritingthatyouworkonwill
demanditsownlevelandtypeofdetail.Detailsattainsignificance,foryouand
consequentlyforyourreader,notjustthroughbeingdramaticorunusual.Often
theywillattainsignificancebecausetheyarebeingnoticedforthefirsttime,
becauseausualorhabitualperceptionhasshifted.Forinstance,returningtothe
scenarioabove,everydayyoumightwalkpastthegraffitionthefactorywall,
consideringittobeaninaneandmessyscrawl,ifyounoticeitatall.Thenone
dayyouseeasunrisepaintedbehindtheletters,oryoumightseeElvislives
andrealiseforthefirsttimethatthesewordsareformedfromthesameletters
(anagrams),orthattheyellowletteringmatchesthecolourofthebeddingflowers
justplantedbythecouncil,oryoumighthaveaflashbackofthebareconcrete
behindthegraffitiandwhatthewallusedtobelike.Itistheseshiftsintheway
youseeyourfamiliarworldthatreviveit.Inthiswaywritingisaprocessof
scrutinising,lookingcloselyatthings,andthentakingtheobservationsontoa
newlevelofperception,oneinwhichyouunderstandyourworldjustalittle
more.

Someoftheobservationaldetailcollectedinyournotebookmightseemmundane
andindiscriminate,itsinterestandsignificancenotfullyknowneventoyou.
Someofitmightbemorefocusedonsomethingyouareworkingonan
observationofacertainplaceortypeofplace.Forinstance,youmayhaveseta
storyataswimmingpoolandneedtoremindyourselfofthesmellofchlorine
andthestrangeacoustics.Whetherapparentlyinsignificantormorefocused,
thereisnoprescriptionforthesortofobservationsyoushouldmake;theywill
alwaysbepersonaltotheindividualwriter.
2.3Usingyourobservations

Theobservationsyoumakeinyournotebookmightnotalwaysappear
imaginativeorpertinenttoanything,butthemundanerecordingofeventsmay
haveunlikelyuses.Writinginmynotebookon15December1998,Iobserved
theskyatthecoastonamurkywinter'sday,whenthelowcloudseemedtobe
litbyachurning,subterraneanforce:

theearthcomestothesurface,thesoilmuddiesthesky,cloudstheairiteven
turnstheseaintoasandymixthesea,thepuddles,therivers,theskyall
glowbrown,glisten,shimmerbutnotwiththelightofanysun.

OnanotheroccasioninthesamenotebookIobservedafamiliarriver,andhow
thecurrentflowedinoneconcertedwayinthestraightsbutwastornbetween
twodirectionsatthebends.BystrugglingtoexpresswhatIsawonthosetwo
separatedays,theobservationsstayedwithme,largelybecauseIhadtakentime
towriteaboutthem.Ilatercombinedpartsofthesetwodescriptionsinasceneof
anovel,TheBookofGuardians(Neale,2000),usingtheriversettingtoreflect
theinnerstateofmymaincharacter,PhilipEyre:

Theswelloftheriverhadcausedthecurrenttobeperplexed,flowing
concertedlyinonemidstreamdirectionbuttornbetweenatleasttwo,whirling
betweencalmandrush,intheshallowsandelbows.Therowingboatbobbedand
turneduneasilylikeageldingonitsrope.Thecigarettesmokesmeltdifferent
wasitbecausewewereoutdoors?Fragrant,alluring,likewoodsmokeinthe
night.

Itwasoneofthosedays:theearthrisingtothesurface,muddyingthewater,
overflowingintotheskyandair.Theworldinspate.Thesandymix,notbrown
orgrey,blackororange.Illuminated,butnotbythesun:theworldglimmering
withthedensityofitsownsubstrata.

(Neale,2000)

Whatyouputdowninyournotebookcanactasamnemonic,amemoryaid,
remindingyouoftheoriginalobservation,revivingcertainthoughtsand
emotions.Inthiswayyournotebookaswellasbeingawritinggymwhere
youexerciseperceptualandlinguisticmusclescanalsoactasafutureresource.

3Thesenses

3.1Involvingallofthesenses
Becomingmoreawareoftheeverydayworldaroundyouinvolvesmorethanjust
looking.Ifwritingisaperceptualartthenperceptionshouldinvolveallofthe
senses,notjustthevisual.Youmustalsostarttosmell,feel,tasteandhearthe
worldyouaretryingtorealise.So,inthemadeupscenario,whenyouseethe
manwiththeScottiedogyoumightbetoofearfultostrokehisdog,butperhaps
youcouldtouchthecoldmetalbarwherethedogwastiedupafterheisgone,
ofcourse!Youmightfeeltheroughbarkofthetreecloseathand,smellthe
brashperfumeofthewashingdetergentsteamingoutofthenearbylaunderette,
tastethebitterdrynessthiscausesinyourmouth,andhearthewindwhistlepast
thebuildings.Youmightseethegraffitionthewallandappreciatethatpartof
thestreetisalwaysquiet,notevenanytraffic,andthatthereisadifferentsmell:
ammonia,itsmellslikefish.

Byawakeningyoursensesandbecomingmoreconsciousoftheworldaround
you,youwillbeenrichingyourgraspofthatworld.Oncethisheightenedwayof
perceivingyourenvironmenthastrickleddownintoyourwriting,yourreader
willbenefit,gettingamuchfullerpictureoftheworldsyouarecreating.

Activity4

Inanindoorlocationwritedownthreethingsforeachofthefollowing:

soundsthatyoucanhear;
texturesthatyoucanfeel;
odoursthatyoucansmell;
flavoursthatyoucantaste;
objectsthatyoucansee.

Nowreadthediscussion

3.2Contexts

Ontheirown,sensoryperceptionsdon'ttendtomeanthatmuch.Theydependon
acontextinwhichtheycanbebroughttolife:forinstance,thatofacharacter.
Suchsensoryperceptionsasyou'vejustlistedinActivity4mightholdmore
meaningifthemanwhotwitchesthecurtainswasthecharactersmellingthe
smellsortouchingthesurfaces;ifhisneighbourinthepurplesariwasthe
characterhearingthenoises,tastingtheflavours.Sensoryperceptionsoffer
dimensionsthatwillenrichyourwriting,butgenerallytheycannotoperatein
isolation.
Activity5

ReadtheopeningofLaurieLee'sCiderwithRosie.Thinkaboutthefollowing
questions:

Whichsensoryperceptionsareused,andhowaretheyused?
Dotheperceptionsbelongtoacharacter?
Isaplacerealisedthroughthesensoryperceptions?
Howistimebeingorganised?
Aretheperceptionsfromonemomentormany?

ClickonthelinkbelowtoopenthestartofLaurieLee'sCiderwithRosie,.

Viewdocument

Nowreadthediscussion

4Memoryandnarrative

4.1Usingmemoriestoordernarrative

ThephilosopherJohnLockemadetheassertionthatindividualidentityis
inextricablylinkedtomemoryweareonlywhatwerememberbeing.Memory
isacentralpartofhowwethinkofourselves,andindeedacentralstrandofwhat
wemightknow.Memoryisnotsimplyamechanicalprocess.Itworksinvarious
waysandyouwilluseitinvariouswaysinyourwriting.IfyoustudyA215
CreativeWriting,thecoursefromwhichthisunitwasextracted,youwillhave
theopportunitytothinkabouthowtomakethemostofassociationsfromyour
memories.Part4ofthecoursefocusesonLifeWriting;itlooksinmoredetail
athowmemoryworksasanarrative,andhowwetellourselvesstoriesaboutour
past.Itwillbeusefultostartthinkingaboutmemoryandnarrativenow,asyour
memorieswillbeofuseinyourpoetryandfiction,aswellasinyourlifewriting.

Partofwhatastorydoesisorganiseeventsintime,asLeehasdone.Memory
oftenworkslikethisevenwhenyouaren'tintendingtowriteyourmemories
downbutaresimplythinking.Sowhenyoutrytorememberwhatyoudid
yesterdayyoustartperhapsbyrecallingsomefragmentsaconversation,having
breakfast,goingtothepark.Themoreyouthinkaboutthefragments,themore
youarelikelytoarrangetheminsomesortoftemporalorderlikeastory.Ihad
breakfastfirst,thenIwenttotheparkandwhenIreturned,that'swhenmy
motherrang.Thinkingofmemoryasaformofnarrativeorstoryisagreatasset
whenyoucometoyourownwriting.Butit'simportanttoconsideryour
memoriestobenarrativesthatyoucanusefreely.Don'tfeelthatyouhaveto
renderthemexactlyinanasitreallywasfashion.

Activity6

Afterreadingthetextbelow,clickonthelinksuppliedtoreadLesleyGlaister's
Memory:Thetruekeytorealimagining.Lookforthefollowingthings:

Howisthememoryrealisedandwrittenabout?
Howistimeorganisedinthememory?
InGlaister'sversionofthismemory,whatreallybringsitalive?
WhatusedoesGlaistermakeofhermemoryinherwriting?

ClickonthelinkbelowtoopenLesleyGlaister'sMemory:Thetruekeytoreal
imagining.

Viewdocument

Nowreadthediscussion

4.2Raidingyourpast

Themoreyouwrite,themoreyouwillraidyourownpast.Theseincursions
won'tdiminishorreduceyourmemoriesratherthoserecollectionscanbe
enrichedandbecomemorefullyrealised.AsJamaicaKincaidsaysofher
writing:

OneofthethingsIfoundwhenIbegantowritewasthatwritingexactlywhat
happenedhadalimitedamountofpowerforme.Tosayexactlywhathappened
waslessthanwhatIknewhappened.

(inPerry,1993,p.129)

Writingusingyourmemoriescanamounttomorethanjustrecitingthefacts.
YouwilllookataJamaicaKincaidstoryinPart2,Writingfiction,andcanthen
considerwhatherparticularmixoffictionandautobiographymightlooklike.
Fornow,it'simportanttorealisethatyouwillnotbetraythetruthofany
particularmemorybyfailingtosticksteadfastlytocertaindetails,orbychanging
elements,orbynothavingatotalrecallofevents.

Theremaybetimeswhenyouwillwishtouseepisodesorelementsfromyour
lifeexperiencemoreorlessdirectly.Oftenyouwillusejustfragmentsofyour
ownpast.Youmightliketouseasingleaspectofacharacter,oraplace,for
instance.Youmightliketouseaturnofphrasethatyourgrandmotherused;you
mightfocusonthefeelingsofbeinglostonthefirstdayatanewschool.Thereis
noruleforhowmuchorhowlittleyoucanuse.

Activity7

Usingthepresenttense,likeGlaisterdoes,writeaboutapersonalmemoryof
eitheraplaceoracharacterinyournotebook.

Makeitbrief,250wordsorso,buttrytogetasmanysensoryperceptionsas
possiblegoing,andtrytofixthememoryintime,asGlaisterdoes,soitisjust
onemoment.Includeeverydaydetailsanddon'tbeafraidtoadmitoneortwo
uncertainties.

Nowreadthediscussion

5Conclusion:youknowmanythings

Writingwhatyouknowisalargeandrichproject,onethatprovidesanendless
resource,andonethatcanbeundertakeninallthetypesofwritingdiscussedin
thisunitpoetry,fictionandlifewriting.Theskillliesinreawakeningyour
sensestotheworldaroundyou,andthenusingwhatyoufindwith
discrimination.Byrealisingthepotentialsofyourownlifeexperience,youwill
becollectingthematerialsnecessaryinordertowrite.Writingwhatyouknow
canamounttoalotmorethanyoumayhavefirstbargainedfor.Itdoesn'tmean
thatyouarelimitedsolelytoyourownlifestory.Neitherdoesitmeanyouhave
tobeentirelytruetoyourmemories.Oftenadifferentkindoftruthwillemerge
fromtheactivityofwritingaboutelementsofyourpastandyoureverydaylife.
Inthisway,writingaboutwhatyouknowisaroutetoadifferentunderstanding
ofyourownexperience,andthereforealsoaroutetofindingoutwhatyoudon't
know.

Dothis

Nowyouhavecompletedthisunit,youmightliketo:

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References

Bell,JuliaandMagrs,Paul(eds)(2001)TheCreativeWritingCoursebook,
London:Macmillan,pp.758.

Neale,Derek(2000)TheBookofGuardians,PhDthesis,UniversityofEast
Anglia.

Neale,Derek(1995)TheBarber'sVictiminRaconteur,GrahamLord(ed.),
No.6,London:RaconteurPublications.

Perry,Donna(ed.)(1993)Backtalk:Womenwritersspeakout,NewBrunswick,
NewJersey:RutgersUniversityPress.

Acknowledgements

ThecontentacknowledgedbelowisProprietary(seetermsandconditions)andis
usedunderlicence.

Gratefulacknowledgementismadetothefollowingsourcesforpermissionto
reproducematerialinthisunit:

Text

Glaister,L.Memory:theTruekeytorealimagining,fromBell,J.andMagrs,
P.(eds),TheCreativeWritingCoursebook,2001,London:Macmillan.

UnitImage

MorganTepsic:Flickr.com