Experience.
"I'm sorry, but we just can't hire someone with your lack of experience."
"Don't worry, just follow my lead, I have experience in these matters."
It's a two-edged sword. One moment it saves your butt, the next it throws you to the ground.
I know for me, experience has been a frustrating thing to deal with. For example, I have lots of experience being told I have no experience in anything. Until this year, I had no experience working a till, I had no experience in retail, or fast-food, or any 9 to 5 job of any kind except summer camp.
And really, does anyone count that as work?
Besides the people who've put that on their resumes?
Just about the only thing I could say that I had experience with was working with kids. I had six years of volunteering in a kid's program under my belt going off to University, as well as working and going to summer camps most of my junior high/high school years.
It got to the point where when I actually tried to get a job in grade 12, because of the work environment of the town I grew up in, I got rejected from every place I applied. Even McDonalds. Yes. I stooped that low. The funny part, was no matter what the outcome I knew I would be relieved. If I did get the job, then I'd finally have some extra money going towards University. If I didn't get it, then Huzzah! No greasy disgusting working conditions!
But this post isn't about fast-food, or about my lack of employment for the majority of my life. It's about how experience affects writing, and why this facet of writing is one of the reasons why I love it so much.
Writing requires no experience.
None.
Inherently, writing (fiction) is all about describing things and feelings that you may have never, nor never will experience yourself. Sure, many stories may be rooted in some experience you may have had, but in the end, few people write fictional stories where they've actually experienced every single thing their viewpoint characters, or even their protagonists, go through.
I may not have time-travelled, and I may have to wait a long time before that happens (don't judge me I can dream), but that doesn't mean I can't write about a character who does just such a thing! I also have exactly 0 experience being a girl. But guess what!? I can write from the perspective of a girl, and sometimes it actually comes across as natural (or so I'd like to think).
Now, when it comes to writing accurately, there does need to be a bit of research done on the topic that's discussed or explored, but I think that's still different than most other jobs. Because, I can have lots of knowledge of how to make hamburgers, and how to count change, but that knowledge doesn't translate to a job hire.
I have never said that it takes no experience to be an author. I think it either takes a great deal of luck and in-born talent to get contracted your first try with your first agent with your first book and be successful. I personally have heard of very few stories similar to this. Most people have to work for many years at the craft of writing to get good, to build up experience, and develop as writers.
At the end of the day though, I can still do what I love without anyone holding me back. The only thing stopping me from writing is getting the time to do it. If I wanted to be a video game designer, I'd have to do a LOT of studying, practicing, and working under others before I could just do whatever I wanted with my own video games. With most careers, you have to spend a long time on the bottom rungs of the corporate ladder before you can rise to the position you actually long for.
As writers, I think a lot of us overlook this immense gift we have. So many people complain about the life of a writer saying how sad it is that they can't just be a writer full-time, or how they still haven't been published after so long wading in anonymity. Seriously, I think a lot of these people need to just wake up and see the amazing gift they've been given with this desire to write.
We don't have to wait all those long arduous years to start doing what we want! We can do it TODAY! No experience required!
I know for me, getting published is a great dream to aspire to, and having other people read my stuff would be tremendous. But I get a great deal of satisfaction just from putting pen to paper and telling a story. Even if I'm the only one to read it.
And no one can ever tell me to stop because I don't have enough experience.
That, my friends, is incredibly freeing.
How has the issue of experience affected your life? Does it frustrate you that people are so picky about it? Or are you more frustrated by the clueless employee who was obviously not hired for his/her expertise?
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