Make the Strange Familiar—And the Familiar Strange

What is the Real Test of a Writer? 
According to Toni Morrison, it is:

“The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar, is the test of their power.”

Toni Morrison didn’t waste words. So when she said this is the test of a writer’s power, you pay attention.
It’s not about grammar. Not about structure. Not even about “finding your voice.”
It’s about vision.
The ability to step outside yourself and write what you don’t know—and to look closer at what you think you do know, until it looks unfamiliar again.
Here’s what that actually means, and why most writers never push far enough.

1. Imagining What Is Not the Self.
This is where true empathy starts. Great writers don’t just write their own reflection over and over. They stretch. They imagine lives, thoughts, fears, and desires that aren’t theirs—and they mean it. Not as caricature. Not as token. As human.
To write what is not the self, you need humility. Curiosity. And the guts to get it wrong, learn, and write better. If your writing never risks misunderstanding, it’s not going far enough.

2. Familiarizing the Strange.
This is one of your superpowers as a writer: taking something foreign, frightening, complex—or just flat-out weird—and making it click for someone else. You give the reader a way in. You build the bridge.
Maybe it’s a culture. A trauma. A thought process. A futuristic world. You translate the unfamiliar into something the reader can feel in their gut.
That’s not simplification. That’s power.

3. Mystifying the Familiar.
Now flip it. Take the ordinary and expose how weird it actually is.
Make the reader stop and say, “I never thought of it like that.” That’s how great writing wakes people up. It doesn’t just show you something new—it shows you something you thought you already knew, but in a way that rewires how you see it. The mundane becomes profound. The everyday becomes strange.
That’s mastery.

4. This Is the Real Work.
You want to know how strong a writer is? Don’t look at their metaphors. Look at their reach.
Do they dare to write past themselves?
Do they help you see someone else’s world—and then turn around and make your world look unfamiliar again?
Anyone can write what they already believe. Powerful writers write what they don’t fully understand—yet.

Toni Morrison’s words cut deep because they’re true.
Writing isn’t just a mirror—it’s a portal.
It’s not just about clarity—it’s about perspective.
It’s not just about telling your story—it’s about making the whole world feel more alive, more complex, and more connected.
So ask yourself:

• Are you only writing from what you know?
• Are you only explaining things you’ve already figured out?
• Or are you willing to step into the strange—and bring your reader with you?

That’s the test.
Pass it.

(More writing truths coming soon. Stay close. This is where writers level up.)