I’ve been looking forward to this post.

As you are getting started as a writer, looking for ideas or exploring what you’d like to write about, there is one piece of advice I would like you to elevate above all others.

Write whatever you want.

Write about people you know. Write about people you don’t know. Write in any genre. Write from real life. Write fantastical worlds. Write about your niche interest. Confess your sins and weaknesses. Write a play. Write a poem. Write a comic book script.

Oh, did someone say that comic book writing isn’t serious writing? Fuck ‘em.

Did someone say literary fiction and poetry are pretentious? Fuck them, too.

Did someone complain you use too many swears? Guess what!

Is your work is too confessional or too abstract? What do you say?

Write whatever you want.

There will be people who tell you not to reveal family secrets. They will tell you not to confess too much. They’ll tell you to worry about what people say on social media and how the market will react.

Ignore them. Write about the bad people in your life. Write about family secrets. Write about the time you were the bad person, and the secret you hope never comes out. Brag about the time you got it right and admit when you screwed up or hurt someone.

You may reach a point when you’d like advice on obscuring real events and real people, especially if you want to keep peace in your family or maintain your reputation as a good person, but first you must write it all down. There is nothing off-limits.

Your characters don’t have to be likeable. They can be violent and selfish and use bad language. The words protagonist and hero are often used interchangeably, but they aren’t synonyms. The main character can be amoral, self-centered, tricky, and mean. There will be times you need advice on bringing your reader into a story about an unpalatable individual, but first you must write it all down.

You can write about people who don’t look like you. You can write entire novels about characters who only look like you. You can write solely from your life or you can explore diverse experiences. Your cast of characters can be monochrome or rainbow-colored. You may want to show your work to a knowledgeable person who can tell you what you did well and what you got wrong, but first you must write it all down.

You will encounter an endless line of people who’ll say you can or cannot do this, or that you must or must not do that. In my experience, these people will scold you no matter what you do, so do what you like.

There will always be people who want to tell you what you can’t do.

I’m here to say: You can do anything.

The choice is entirely yours.