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My high school teacher told me to write what I know, and I'm still figuring out what that means
Back in my junior year, Mrs. Jenkins gave us that classic advice: 'Write what you know.' For years, I took it super literally. I wrote stories about being a bored kid in a small town, and they were, well, boring. It wasn't until I tried a prompt about a character finding a weird key that I realized something. I didn't 'know' about magic keys, but I knew the feeling of finding my grandpa's old tackle box in the garage and wondering about all the stories attached to the junk inside. I used that feeling. Now I think 'write what you know' is less about facts and more about the real feelings you understand. Has anyone else had to unlearn that piece of writing advice?
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jessicahill6mo ago
That advice tripped me up too until I realized it meant feelings, not facts.
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miller.paul6mo ago
Yeah, it finally clicked for me when I started asking "is this a weather report or a thermostat setting?" My own feelings were the thermostat, always trying to control the climate. Letting them just be the weather, something passing through, made a huge difference.
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noah_black5mo ago
My buddy once wrote a whole scene about a guy fixing a spaceship engine. He's never been to space, but he did spend a summer rebuilding a motorcycle with his dad. He said he just wrote about the grease on his hands and that specific panic when a part doesn't fit, and it worked perfectly.
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