Advice comes in all shapes and sizes when it comes to writing. So many poeple have mathods and plans on how to get out the words and wrap them into a coherent story for all to enjoy. But one common piece of advice I always hear, one that smacks me with aggrivation and confusion is to "write what you know".

I don't believe Stephen King knew what hungry buggy aliens would want or do when he wrote the Mist. I doubt Laurall K. Hamilton had a clue what an ancient vampire parading around as a goddess would find amusing when she wrote Obsidien Butterfly. So what do you think they did when they couldn't write what they knew?

It took years of slamming my head into the keyboard to finally come to the answer: They wrote what they liked.

What? No big mystical surprise? Just write what you like? I know, it was another V-8 moment.

When we pour our hearts into our writing, something magical happens. We build characters and scenarios that take on a life of their own. We reach new heights in plotting and description. We translate our love for a story that absolutely trips our trigger to the page, which in turn lights a fire under the readers butt. Isn't that what writing is all about?

So, take this piece of advice from a serious wannabe: Don't fret over the fact that you aren't a world-reknowned adventurer or an expert on xenology, just make damned sure that the story you're writing is one you'd spend your last five books on to read, one that you'd feel satisfied with if it was the only thing left on the planet to read. Chances are, so will your readers.