I'm sure most of you have heard the mantra "Write what you know." from attending a conference, reading it in an industry trade magazine, or a book from a writing guru.
My answer to that is ignore it and think outside the box. Sure, draw from your experiences, but don't stifle creativity at its expense. Did Jules Verne dig a hole to China in order to write Journey to the Center of the Earth? Did H. G. Wells travel in time to write The Time Machine? Did Thomas Harris become a serial killer just to write about one in Silence of the Lambs or Hannibal? No!! Absolutely not!!
They used their imagination and asked the question, "What if?" and you should too. Don't constrain yourself. If you want to write about something you are passionate about like karate but you're not even a white belt, then research it. You should be knowledgeable enough to know that although a beginner wears a white belt in karate, a beginner in jujitsu wears a red belt.
Say, "What if?" often. It's called fiction for a reason. Use your imagination. To borrow from the saying, "Go big, or go home." Be creative, or stay home.
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