What Does it Mean to "Write What You Know?"

Despite its ubiquity in writing classes, the phrase “write what you know” is actually pretty contentious. A lot of really successful authors have written their thoughts on the issue, and most of them agree that they were led astray by the simplicity of the phrase.

Comic by Leo Cullum

In actuality, what most people mean when they say “write what you know” is “understand what you’re talking about.” And that can mean that you should research concepts, settings, occupations you may not already know about. But usually the phrase is talking about how you should think about what experiences you have that are similar to what you want to write about. You may not know what it’s like to stare down a dragon, but you probably know what it’s like to be under pressure.

For a good example, let’s talk about Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings series. There’s been a lot of literary criticism talking about how Frodo’s journey to destroy the ring is allegory for the horrors of war and shellshock (one of the original terms for the PTSD experienced by WWI soldiers). While Tolkien denies that this was his intention, the fact that readers are able to make this connection says something about how Tolkein’s experiences affected his writing. He was drawing from his own experiences (whether he knew it or not), and that clearly resonated with his readers. While the story was fantastical, the feelings it evoked were authentic.

When you’re writing, look for experiences that you can relate to and thus others can in turn. It’s all about believability. Not “could this happen” believability, but “do I understand what the character is feeling” believability. Does the character act the way they should?

That’s why journaling can be such a helpful tool for writers. Not because you’re going to go back and read through your what you’ve experienced, but because the practice of self-reflection asks you to think critically about what you’re feeling, how that feeling affects you, and why you’re feeling it. While the sea of possible human experiences is infinite, you’ll find that the possible human reactions is actually pretty small. Some feelings are just universal no matter the circumstances they occur under.