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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Write What You Know: What it really means

by Chautona Havig · 6 Comments

You’ve heard it. I’m sure you have. The ubiquitous advice for all would-be authors: “Write what you know.”

Half of me wants to say, “That’s totally true.  Do it.”  The other half of me says, “That’s garbage.  If we only write what we know, we’ll never explore the greatest parts of our imagination!”

write what ou know

(note: links in this post may be affiliate links which will give me a small commission for the Denny’s fund at no additional cost to you!  Thanks!)

So which is it?

The truth is, it’s both. I learned that early in my writing.  My first book, Ready or Not, didn’t require much research.  I wrote “what I knew”.  Of course, I did have to interview teachers and see if any had managed not to do training classes with younger children.  I had to discover if someone could put all their assets in someone else’s name–and if that someone else had to know about it. But most of it was fairly easy and related to what I knew at least.

Argosy Junction came along, and I had a lot more research to do but still nothing insurmountable. For example, I had to learn about sheep, wool allergies, emergency tactics for after an allergic reaction.  Unions. Welders. Inner city living.  Still, it was relatively familiar stuff to research.

But then came my first really difficult book to research, Discovering Hope.

Discovering hopeWhile it wasn’t the hundred-plus hours just on the 19th-century portions of Deepest Roots of the Heart, it did take hours upon hours.  First I had to research Indian culture.  I needed to know if dating an American would be “acceptable” among first-generation immigrants from India. Hours of combing dating websites, message boards, articles, asking questions.

Language.  The language alone took hours. I bought a Tamil to English dictionary.  I sent lots of questions to my friend to ask her friends about immigrating, about how someone might say something.

And then I needed to know about traumatic brain injuries, pancreatic cancer, Don  Giovanni, how expensive laser tag guns are. I never realized how many hours of research I put into the book until I actually started counting.  It had to be over fifty–and that’s just the usable stuff.  I spent dozens more hours reading out of interest and to make it feel normal.

And that’s how I write “what I know.”

When I don’t know it, I learn it.  I learn what directions rivers have to run and how wind patterns affect currents.  Sometimes I learn stuff like how antifreeze affects varnish.  And I learn how to phrase things in languages I don’t speak.  Other times, I spend hours combing through Sears & Roebuck catalogs from 1901 so I can learn what the dresses looked like, how much a book was, what fabric a man’s suit might have been. Not that I haven’t been doing TONS of that this past week in my writing of Such a Tease.  Ahem.  (Psst.  It’s on pre-order.  And there’s a cool BONUS!)

But I always feel like my first “real” research was with Discovering Hope.

write what you know

 

write what you know

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Filed Under: General Information, Writing

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Comments

  1. Janell says

    February 2, 2017 at 4:58 am

    I went to the page for the “I Heart You” Collection, but when I clicked the link that said it would take me to Amazon, it said ” this page is not available”. Not sure what the problem is, or if they’ve already taken the collection and the 99 cent deal off the market.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      February 2, 2017 at 5:32 am

      I’m so sorry for the frustration. We had to remove it for a day or two. I’ll post again as soon as it’s back. I’m not in control of it so I can’t give a specific time. AGain, so sorry for the frustration.

      Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      February 3, 2017 at 5:45 am

      It’s available again! There was a contractual issue and it had to be removed until it was fixed.
      so sorry!

      Reply
  2. Emma Filbrun says

    January 30, 2017 at 10:27 am

    I’m reading this book right now, and loving it. I told my daughter yesterday, though, that it’s not a good thing for me to have a new book by you, because I’m not worth much for anything else! You distract me from my work! I must develop more self-discipline.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      January 30, 2017 at 4:26 pm

      Self-discipline is overrated, right? I’m sure the Bible has nothing to say about it. Not at all! *whistles*

      Reply
    • Lucinda Culp says

      January 31, 2017 at 4:45 am

      Oh, Emma, know how I finally discovered I could close the cover long enough to at least provide nourishment? Past Forward! Having only a few bites of an always tasty Chautona Havig title meant I had no choice…when the few chapters were done, there wasn’t any more until the next installment…which, by the way, can never come quickly enough, but I digress. So…reading a Havig serial novel taught me that, plus patience, because this rabid-er…avid reader took a speed reading course, which means I CAN sit down and digest a whole book in a short time span. Past Forward taught me I can savor a few chapters and set it aside. I would use this as an opening to lobby for another installment of Vintage Wren, but maybe tomorrow.

      Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
byChautona Havig

Hey, we’re back after a couple of weeks of vacation, and boy did I need it. And, have I got a fabulous interview for you. Nancy Naigle and I talked about her books, her most recent release, What Remains True as well as her Christmas books and the one I’m most anxious to read, The Shell Collector. Listen in and learn about what Nancy says about this bet she has going on in What Remains True. Great stuff!

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Need a Great Romantic Read to Wind Up Your Summer Reads?

As I said in the podcast, a while back, someone told me I’d LOVE The Shell Collector–one of those people who recommends books you HAVE to read if they say you do.  So I bought it and it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since. Well, now it’s on my GoodReads shelf, and I’m about to start it (and I optimistically thought I’d be done with it by the time this episode released. Oh, me of too much faith in myself and my time management!)

Author of over thirty books, not to mention a bestselling author who also has movies made of her novels (And The Shell Collector has been optioned! EEEP!), Nancy loves to write Christmas books and small-town stories. Seriously, as we talked, I felt like she was talking about me half the time. We’re so very alike in so many ways. It was fun.

Nancy also pointed out that her first books (if you go WAY back) are not Christian fiction and are a bit spicier than she prefers to write and definitely more than she writes today. So be warned there, but she did assure us that they are all closed-door books.

What Remains True by Nancy Naigle

One woman wants to win a bet. One man wants to become a rodeo champion. One little girl may give them both something even better—from USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle.

“A commitment-phobic rodeo star and a divorcée with secrets find love in this wholesome romance. . . . As uplifting as it is sweet.”—Publishers Weekly

Working at a little shop on Main Street in a small town is exactly the break that executive Merry Anna Foster needs following her divorce. She’s made a bet with her ex-husband that she can live on the amount of money she’s giving him in alimony. If she can do it, then Kevin will have to stop complaining and leave her alone. But after three months of this new life, will she even want to leave Antler Creek?

Adam Locklear, bull rider and owner of the local feedstore, is having the best year of his rodeo career. He’s also a bit distracted by the pretty new neighbor living in his old bunkhouse. But Adam has no time for matters of the heart. He’s got his future all mapped out, and that future doesn’t involve a woman just yet. It doesn’t involve parenting a little girl either. However, Carly Fowler still suddenly leaves five-year-old Zan—the daughter Adam didn’t know he had—in his care.

Is it possible that the future holds a life even better than what Merry Anna and Adam had each dreamed of? One that includes both tenderness and even love—not just for each other but for Zan too?

You can learn more about Nancy’s books and movies on her WEBSITE.

Oh, and PSST… I’m loving the audiobook of this one!

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Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
August 9, 2022
Chautona Havig
Episode 161: A Chat with Christian Women's Fiction Robin W. Pearson
July 26, 2022
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Episode 160: A Chat with Liz Johnson about The Last Way Home
July 22, 2022
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Episode 159: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Mesu Andrews
July 19, 2022
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A Chat with Historical Christian Fiction Author, Stephanie Landsem
July 12, 2022
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Episode 157: A Chat with Historical Christian Fiction Author, Lynn Austin
July 8, 2022
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Episode 156: The Fragrance of Violets by Susan K. Beatty
July 5, 2022
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Episode 155: Chatting with Heather Day Gilbert & Jen Cudmore
July 1, 2022
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Episode 154: A Chat with Romantic Suspense Author, Sami A. Abrams
June 28, 2022
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Episode 153: A Chat with Historical Author, Tracie Peterson
June 21, 2022
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