This is an old post idea I never got around to.. And this picture is of my childhood dog and best friend who has since passed...
"Don't study because you need to. Study because knowledge is power. Study because they can never take it away from you. Study because you want to know more. Study because it enhances you. Study because it grows you." ~ Unknown
School sucks. I think a lot of you will agree with me on this. Yes, there are fun classes. There are some really good teachers. There are good days and good grades and good friends, sometimes. But there are also boring classes, hard classes, bad grades, and bad teachers. It's easy to zone out and slack in the classes you don't like. It's easy to think that it's pointless. I know I do. Especially when the amount of school you have is taking you away from writing, or has you so burnt out.
So, why should you, as a writer, learn history and math when you want to write?
Your writing reflects what you learn. For example, those who write Sci-fi normally know a lot about science (especially in hard sci-fi). But if you don't write sci-fi why would knowing tons of science be helpful in your writing? And, what topics benefit your writing?
1. Art (My sister wanted me to add this)
Art can be a super useful talent as a writer. You can create character artwork, book covers, and tons of other cool stuff if you're good at it. But for those of us who struggle a bit more in the art department, how is it helpful?
I'm not very good at drawing or painting, I have taken classes in both mediums, and so many others. I like hand lettering, and I've recently taken up printmaking, I still wouldn't consider myself an artist.
While it may not directly benefit your plotting or dialogue skills, doodling keeps your mind creative. Keep a doodle pad with you when you're writing, take an art class. It's surprisingly relaxing and enjoyable, both to do something creative that isn't writing, and to learn something new. I find art more relaxing than my Yoga class, I love being in the art room, it's just be and my block of wood, or mixing my inks. If you hop on over to my Instagram, you can see some of the art I've been making in my printmaking class this term. If you don't have an Instagram, there will be a blog post coming about it soon.
If you have stayed away from art because you are.. not good. Take another try! Ask your artist friend to teach you something. Take a class if you're able. Try printmaking, watercolor, hand lettering, buy a coloring book and some gel pens. Whatever is easy and will be relaxing and fun.
2. History
YAY HISTORY! .... Okay, I know a fair amount of people reeeaaallly do't like history. It's a bunch of boring facts to memorize. Dates, dead people, some wars. Well, you got some crappy history teachers.
Personally, I was home schooled, and my history education consisted of missionary books, and Christian historical Non-fiction. I had lots of maps I got to color in, and if I had to research anything, I got to pick the country and topic. When my mom did make us learn from a book, it was still fascinating to me. But i never had to sit through long classes and take quizzes and exams on set facts that will not matter when I graduate. I did take a Ancient World History class in community college last year, and I enjoyed it. It was really long lectures that I tried not to all asleep during, but learning about ancient Mesopotamia and the Greek and Roman empires are really freaking awesome. But if you disagree, I'm sorry, I wish you could understand how cool this stuff it, you're missing out.
And in your writing, knowing history can be the capstone, the foundation, the frosting on the cake. For fantasy it helps you have more diverse world building, for non-fiction it helps you understand your characters better, you can write historical fiction or non-fiction, for sci-fi it can give you ideas you never would have thought of based off freaky experiments countries did in the past, or famous inventors and what was going on around them when they were alive. The past is filled with inspiration and prompts.
3. Science
When I was home schooled, I hated science more than math, and you'll get to see how much I hate math below. I didn't understand the point. I didn't get why I had to do lab's and pre-labs, and didn't get how it would be important to me someday. I liked the dissecting, but otherwise I faked it. I had no idea what I was doing in biology or anything. Then, I started going to community college and took a biology class, and did really really well. My lab partners were impressed that I knew how to do so much of it. But I still didn't like science. But I had to take another science credit and my friend told me to take the one she was taking. So I did. Anatomy and Physiology. Most often described as the hardest class on the Mount Hood campus. 'Yay..... I'm gonna fail' were my thoughts on the first day. But man, I loved that class. It was probably the hardest one I ever took (not counting math cuz I hate math) Science started to make sense to me. Why it was important and how awesome it was.
Science (especially the health, anatomy side) helps you write characters who had physical disabilities, write interesting plague novels, write injuries better, it can inspire countless stories.
4. Psychology/Sociology
If you don't understand how Psych can help you be a better writer, then you desperately need to take a psych class, or at least do some research my friend. Psychology is fascinating, and might, out of all the topics I've listed, be the most beneficial to your writing, and to your personal life.
Sociology is a subject that didn't make any sense to me till I took a class last term, and besides my teacher preaching his politics like it was the gospel, it was a really good class. Sociology is about things like social norms, how society impacts you as a person, people groups, gentrification, and hegemony. Things that you'll have to take a Sociology class to know what it means (or like, google it.)
5. Language
Another fun one that should get it's own blog post. And another one I'm going to list as a "duh" item.
6. Religion
As a Christian, religion impacts my writing a lot, and I follow many Christian writers who believe their faith should be the center of their writing and influence all other aspects of it.
Your knowledge about other religions, both in HISTORY and present day, will be reflected in your world building, and if you write non-fiction, it is even more critical.
7. Math
Okay. I honestly have no idea why knowing complicated math stuff would help you that much. If you have a character who is a mathematician of some sort it could be useful, for figuring out complicated timelines, or fictional finances. Honestly I'm not going to try to convince you anything about math. Why? Cuz math is ruining my life at the moment. That's why. Ask me after I graduate and maybe I'll have more optimistic math advice. (This was written when I failed by math class I think. Now that i haven't been in math for a couple terms though, I still hate it and don't see enough benefit to outweigh my hate. If you want to try to convince me otherwise, be my guest.)
Looking back at my education, now that I'm only five weeks away from graduating, I realize that subjects I thought I hated I just hadn't found the right aspect of it, or I hadn't had a good teacher. Topics I thought I was bad at I just needed to understand and realize why it mattered to learn. The subjects I still hate are ones that I believe don't help me live better, or make me any wiser.
But this isn't some crazy new idea. Write what you know, as I've said before, is a guideline, and it's not as clear as it sounds. As you learn more, you can write better and about more. Learning is good for our minds, it's weightlifting for our brain. And learning challenges you, your opinions, and through learning maybe we can make the world a better place. You may have to deal with teachers shoving their political views down your throats, and assignments that you dread, and you may think about dropping out and becoming a pig farmer, but in the end, learning is good. Knowledge is power.
Do you have strong opinions on math? Are there school topics you think make you a better writer? Talk to me in the comments, I'd love to hear from you guys.
Much love,
Thane
Much love,
Thane