You’ll most likely be told to write what you know from dozens of screenwriting books, screenwriting professors, seminars, fellow students, and probably even strangers while preparing to write a screenplay, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a story analyst in Hollywood, it’s this:

If we all wrote what we knew on a first hand physical experience level, we’d be bored out of our minds!

Before we go any further, let’s just say that there are two ways you can look at the phrase “write what you know”:

1. Set out to write about your physical experiences and observations in life as an individual.

2. Set out to write about your thematic experiences and observations in life as an individual.

So which is it?

If you picked the first, consider yourself aging at an incredibly rapid speed until there’s nothing left but a dusty old pile of bones. If you picked the second, and I think we can expect a quote from The Last Crusade here, “You’ve chosen … wisely.”

If you’re thinking about arguing this point … just … don’t. I’ve read far too many screenplays based on the first example to give you the time of day. Simply put, the phrase “write what you know” is a misinterpreted phrase. More often than not, many people will encourage you to write all about your summer at camp, your first year in college, the non-adventures you and your friends share, but the fact of the matter is that there’s more to it than that.

It’s all about theme.

Writing what you know is about the thematic value you’ve learned during your life lessons. Life lessons usually come packaged with conflict and confrontation. When writing about your physical experience at camp, with your four best friends, or shopping, you’re short-changing the audience in order to relive your experience. This is not to say you can’t write about your experiences, but rather that you should be prepared to articulate your experiences on a thematic level.

Character is how we identify with theme; theme is how we identify with story. If you cut out the middle man, you merely have some random character in some random story.

“EXT. FIELD – DAY

Sam wonders the corn field backed by blue skies. She approaches an empty patch and sits. And then a giant cloud appeared in the distance and showered the great field with rain.”

So what?

I don’t know; ask the writer. This response is what usually occurs when reading screenplays about physical experiences. This is what I call the “And Then Disorder,” and it’s most commonly linked to how we tell each other our dreams:

And then this happened … but I don’t know why. And then there was this guy, but blah, blah, blah. Dreams are mysterious strings of stories we subconsciously create, so it’s only natural that we share them and our curious feelings about them when emotionally struck, but the only problem is that the person we tell usually looses interest faster than a jaded development executive late for his lunch at The Palm. The point is, dreams are stories dealing with our immediate experience … not so much our thematic experience. How often to you wake from a dream with an emotionally powerful thematic message? If you do … you should probably close this post and write what ever you’re thinking, because you’re a genius!

Screenwriters suffering (actually, it’s more like audiences and stories suffering) from ATD are usually writing under the notion that “writing what they know” means writing about their immediate experience and nothing more. Again, don’t just write about summer camp … write about what you leaned thematically.

Additionally, the first interpretation of writing what you know really limits your scope. Unless you new pirates that were hanged, or scientists who resurrected dinosaurs, or people hiding aliens in their closets, then you couldn’t write about Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic Park, or ET — all of which were told from those with stories not only about human experiences, but thematic experiences (love, dangers of playing God, friendship). Keep in mind that this advice, “write what you know” is usually directed toward amateur writers wondering what to write about; those with experience develop the ability to speculate and interpret thematic value, such as playing with the powers of God, instead of actually sharing their specific experience.

Tie it to the rest of the world! Involve your audience!

So now that we understand that there’s two ways to interpret “write what you know,” let’s pick apart the first interpretation and list 5 tips why you should avoid writing what you know … or the “And Then Disorder.”

Screenwriting Tips: 5 Reasons Why Not to Write What You Know:

1. Your story will most likely suffer from And Then Disorder.
We’ve been over this, but in short, you’ll be able to relive your experience on the page, but it will have very little if anything to relate to or identify with — just like when you try to tell someone your dream, you’ll inevitably end up going on and force their eyes to glaze over with indifference.

2. Your reader will be bored.
This is pretty much the same thing, but it’s worth mentioning twice because if your script is boring, you don’t stand a chance … what do you think readers are paid to analyze? The goal is to keep the reader or audience entertained. Avoid the glazy, indifferent eyes by keeping your conflict, dilemma (characters forced to make impossible decisions), and confrontation high on just about every page.

3. You will be limited to your limited experience.
How do you expect to write about anything in your imagination if you’re planning on writing what you know? Again, storytelling is about escapism and the human state for the most part, so if you limit yourself to the few summers when you had a lot of fun or the time you got lost, you’re limiting your story’s potential. That said, there’s definitely an audience interested in seeing small stories … just as long as you can avoid the second reason why not to write what you know.

4. You’ll end up telling and retelling the same story with different characters
Now, I actually know a few screenwriters that did this, so I know it’s a common side-effect of the misinterpretation of writing what you know. So you grew up in a bad part of town and struggled through it until finally running away to find yourself? That’s a great story … also known as a coming of age story. We could make a great game out of thinking up how many versions of this you could explore. Set this story in the slums of Culver City and you have a romantic drama; in the ghettos of Inglewood and you have a crime drama; in the alleys of Beverly Hills and you have a comedy — and those are just versions here in Los Angeles! The possibilities are limitless, which is exactly why you should keep your mind open and strive to avoid writing only what you know.

5. You’re life isn’t that exciting … yet?
Okay, this one’s harsh, but it needs to be said. With today’s plethora of self-proclaimed fame in the media — especially in the blogosphere with life-loggers and wanna-be celebutantes, it’s easy to get carried away and strive to share your epic story with the world. The real question is, is your life worth spending a million bucks to share? What makes you special? What have you experienced that no one else has? Again, this comes down to thematic value. As long as you’ve got theme, and your audience can relate, people will willingly enjoy a story about anything! I’m not saying our stories as common folk aren’t interesting and exciting, but rather that they require additional articulation of thematic value and drama. Don’t just tell it like it is … amplify it!

With these five reasons in mind, consider avoiding the common misinterpretation of writing what you know, and focusing on amplifying your story’s thematic value. Again, if you don’t have theme, then you merely have a random character in a random dream-like story … which without much theme, probably lacks sufficient conflict, for theme is also the well for conflict.

Now go out and write what you know on a thematic level, whether it’s about your first experience with death, that wonderful experience with love, or what ever experience you have that your audience will be attracted to due to the ability to relate to it. After all, writing is a form of exploration in itself, so while you might be writing about your opinion or lesson learned through a prior experience, the very act of writing is just another way to explore, experience, and learn.

Since when did writing become so limited?

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