Write What You Know…And If You Don’t Know, Find Out
Write what you know. We writers hear that all the time. And it’s not bad advice. Certainly there’s validity in writing from experience and authority. But as a writer, to write solely what you know narrows your potential. I write a lot of non-fiction and I write about what I don’t know all the time. That’s the joy of writing. It’s called research. Journalism. I love exploring new topics, learning about unusual intriguing subjects, or simply delving deeper into an idea that has caught my fancy. Even fiction writers often need to do research in order for their writing to be accurate. Over the years, I’ve written stories about sports I never knew existed, history I never read about, science I never dreamed about, and fascinating people I never met. So, sure, it’s okay to write what you know. But don’t limit yourself. Making discoveries enriches our lives as writers. My advice is write what you don’t know.
Tee received a Master of Arts in English in 2008 from Southeastern Louisiana University. She has studied under Edgar nominee Tim Gautreaux, Booksense Pick novelist Bev Marshall and Clarion West graduate and World Fantasy nominee, Cat Rambo. She has more than ten years of documentation and editing experience and is currently the Editor-in-Chief at LitStack.com.
She has spent the past nine years in the corporate environment as a Technical Editor and has previously edited for Christine Rose, Phoebe North, Heather McCorkle, Laura Pauling, Anne Riley, Christine Fonseca and UF writer Carolyn Crane. With Heather McCorkle, Tee co-founded the #WritersRoad chat on Twitter.
In addition, she is working on several creative projects, including her second novel and various short stories. Her flash fiction, "Street Noises," was included in the Pill Hill Press anthology "Daily Frights 2012: 366 Days of Dark Flash Fiction (Leap Year Edition)" and her short "Til Hunt Be Done," was included in the Winter Wonders anthology from Compass Press.
A diehard New Orleans Saints fan, Tee lives with her family in Southeast Louisiana.
