"Write What You Know"

The cliche "Write what you know" is rearing its ugly head in my life this week.  I recently consulted a Christian writer whom I have known for years, asking for wisdom and advice on 'breaking in' to the writing world.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure got the answer I was looking for. It's tough out there and unless you already are someone, it's unlikely people will want to hear what you have to say.  One suggestion he gave me was to begin writing articles and submitting them for publication in journals.  Though I cannot say I was thrilled by this prospect, I must admit, I think it's a good idea.  And yet once again, I find myself swimming through an unknown corner of a market I know so little about.  Writing articles is quite different than writing books, I'm coming to find.  Not only so, but in a time when I'm barely hanging on to my 'writing voice' I'm now trying to change it to match the more serious and (sometimes) impersonal tone of a magazine or journal.  I feel like I just sucked in helium. I think my only hope in this magazine world is to write about my own life experiences (at least) and write about subjects that I'm at least familiar with (at most). Anyway, I look forward to the day when I can put a link on my blog to an online journal with my name in it! ;)