I thought 'write what you know' was the worst advice for new writers

For years, I argued that telling people to only write from their own life was limiting and boring. I'd tell my buddy, 'Why write about being a roofer when you can write about being a space pirate?' But last month, I tried a prompt to write a 500-word scene about a job I actually did, fixing a leak on a steep pitch in the rain. The specific details about the cold metal, the smell of wet shingles, and the frustration made it feel real in a way my space pirate stuff never did. It wasn't about the job itself, but using those concrete feelings as a foundation for the character's struggle. Has anyone else had a prompt completely flip a writing rule they swore by?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryanburns1d ago

Honestly, that bit about using concrete feelings as a foundation really hit me. Tbh I used to think "write what you know" just meant your job or where you live, which seemed so dull. But you're right, it's more about stealing those real, tiny feelings, like the specific frustration of a task, and giving them to a completely different character. It's like emotional raw material you can build anything on top of. Ngl, I might have to go back and try some of my old boring job stories now.

the_wesley1d ago

Yeah, the "emotional raw material" idea is good, but I've found it can backfire. If I lean too hard on my own feelings, all my characters start to sound the same. Sometimes you have to imagine feelings you don't know firsthand to make someone truly different.