Writing Really Is About Who You Know
Freelance writer Debra Johanyak discusses how writing really is about who you know, though maybe not in the way many think.
But not in the way you think!
You’ve probably heard this saying about the film industry, “It’s not what you know but who you know.” Similarly, in the writing universe, meetings with agents and publishers at writing conferences or book events is a great way to make contacts that lead to exciting opportunities. Developing ideas from personal experience can also be richly rewarding. But when you’re looking for new topics to explore in an article, a blog post, website content, or social media, think about the people you take for granted whose stories may entertain and inspire readers.
Does your family doctor make humorous comments to relax patients on the exam table? Was your career path influenced by a favorite—or difficult—teacher? Maybe a distant relative surprised everyone at Christmas by announcing an arctic expedition!
Think about family members, friends, neighbors, and professionals who impact your life in meaningful ways. Can you write about them and encourage readers to appreciate the everyday unique people around us?
Growing up, our family lived in an aging but once-fashionable part of town. Across the street stood a Victorian mansion, the home of 19th-century cereal barons. As kids, my sister, brothers, and I trick-or-treated at the house every Halloween. Beyond the front door in the foyer stood a Renaissance-era knight’s armor positioned upright, creating a fearful backdrop for the stern but kind descendant of the founding family who gave pennies and apples as “treats,” claiming candy was bad for children’s teeth. My father and brother did garden work for Mrs. C. when Dad was temporarily laid off from his pipefitting job. He described the interior of the house with exotic collectables from around the world in amazing detail after making minor repairs inside. The lawn, grounds, and carriage house were kept immaculately groomed, thanks in part to my family’s help.
Many years later, as an adult teaching at the nearby university that inherited the mansion when our elderly neighbor passed away, I wrote an article titled “The House on the Hill,” which was published by our city newspaper. The article describes the house and its owner along with her housekeeper and chauffeur from a child’s perspective. My sister and I recalled exchanging greetings with Mrs. C. across the street when she sat on the porch or watched her whippet hound dash across the lawn. Although our family’s acquaintance with her was limited, we admired her beautiful home and the glamorous parties she hosted for city dignitaries and charitable causes. After publishing my book Behind the Veil in 2007, I made community presentations in Hower House, now a university-owned museum.
When my mother passed away from lung cancer, I had been her caregiver most of the previous year, and her loss hit me hard. I grieved for weeks, and then my husband and I discovered we were expecting another child. At a friend’s suggestion, I joined a community gathering of ladies called Woman-to-Woman. The organizers helped to connect younger women without mothers to older women willing to mentor them. I was matched with a lady in her 70s named Rose, and we quickly bonded. Although our personalities differed in some distinct ways (I was more reticent while she was outspoken), she had much to teach me, and I became an eager learner. Our friendship grew over several years, and she was like a grandmother to our newborn daughter and older son.
After listening to Rose’s exciting stories of growing up in New York during the 1920s and 1930s, I typed her tales about helping parents run a corner store and meeting immigrant customers from around the world along with her memories about news events of that time. The stories were mostly a page or less in length. After arranging 15 of these treasured stories, I had them bound at an office supply store and gave them to her three adult children for Christmas with a copy for Rose as well. They claimed it was their favorite gift! Payment was neither expected nor received; I rejoiced to reciprocate the precious gift of time and nurture she had given me. Not long afterward, I published an article in a family magazine titled “Mother’s Day without a Mother,” to honor her friendship and support. When she passed away a few years later, I gave a funeral eulogy at her family’s request. Rose was truly inspirational!
During this same span of years, my sister and I shared caregiving duties for our father. Becky was an ICU nurse with extensive medical experience, and I consulted her about Dad’s mental and physical symptoms. I learned a great deal about the impact of dementia on patients and their families and realized the typical person might benefit from that knowledge in case they became caregivers for someone with dementia. So Becky and I cowrote an article for a nursing publication with suggestions for communicating with people who have dementia, which was accepted and published. Although we have discussed writing about more medical topics together, so far our schedules have prevented it.
Sometimes inspiration comes from everyday people we take for granted. When my reserved middle-school-age son joined a weekly youth group, we noticed he soon felt comfortable enough to open up with the other kids and join the activities. Eventually, the group leader became a trusted friend in whom our son confided about a few middle school concerns and received helpful advice. I met with the young leader on a few occasions, and his forthright, pleasant manner inspired confidence and trust. I asked if I could write an article about his interpersonal skills for a magazine called Group dedicated to youth leadership. He agreed and humbly approved the article when I showed him. The article was published, and hopefully, readers benefit from his skills and strategies while working with that age group.
In my decades-long teaching career, I published articles on scholarly topics and also about teaching challenges. For example, several Hispanic students from area migrant families enrolled in my classical literature course. I published an article in an academic journal explaining how I taught works by Hispanic authors to help those students feel included and to broaden the literary insights of non-Hispanic students.
Another noteworthy group were the midlife and older students aged 50-plus who contributed so much to class discussions with their life experience and insights. Younger students enjoyed the older ones’ anecdotes that the teens had only read about in history books. A few older enrollees in their 70s came to class for reading pleasure rather than college credit. Admiring their life-long love of learning, I wrote an article about their unquenchable pursuit of knowledge.
I could go on with more examples, but you see what I mean. Even if you can’t think of someone to write about now, you may meet influential or inspiring individuals in the future. According to insuranceinformant.com, humans encounter a staggering number of people over a lifetime, although this varies for each of us:
"On average, we live for 71 years (based on life expectancy), and most of us remember people we meet after age 5. On average, we interact with at least 1 new person daily in cities, 365 days in a year plus leap year days is 365.24. In total, we will meet (71 – 5) x 1 x 365.24 = 27,027 people.
"The average person sees anywhere between 90,000 and 42.5 million faces in their lifetime, likely closer to 3 million. We can remember the estimated figure of 150 friendships over a lifetime (insuranceinformant.com/how-many-people-do-we-encounter-in-our-lifetime.html)."
What are you waiting for? Talk to the people you know or get out there and meet someone with a story to share! Or like Edgar Allan Poe who wrote “William Wilson,” you may see a stranger in public who leaves you reflective or awestruck enough to wax creative.
Debra Johanyak is a freelance writer based in the Midwest. Writing is her passion and lifestyle with reading fiction and nonfiction a close second. She enjoys using her experience to help other writers dodge pitfalls and hone their skills. In addition to publishing several books and articles, she has assisted authors in the U.S. and abroad to prepare manuscripts for publication.
