Savannah Watson

Writing often begins (and sometimes ends) with what we know. The things we have seen, heard, experienced, and done all coalesce into our writing. We pull from our own realm of knowledge and understanding to paint beautiful, dramatic, tragic, exaggerated, or surreal stories. This is why writing tends to be cathartic to writers; it’s how we process our lives.

Writing about what you know is important; these are things that only you can tell because they are your take on things from your unique perspective. Think about it this way: ten people can look up at the same house, but there would be ten unique thoughts and opinions on that one house.

Most (if not all) writers can write about the things they know, the things in their immediate surroundings. This is a huge benefit, especially when there are many sources to draw from. Keep writing those things.

But what about the things we don’t know? The things we have not personally experienced, and the things that we may only have seen or heard about from movies, television, or other books.

One word: RESEARCH!

It is completely acceptable (and arguably VERY important) to write about things you don’t know because that is a way to learn about things, people, and experiences that are different from you and your own. But to write about things you don’t know about in a RESPECTFUL way (this is a critical point – you should always strive to be respectful), you MUST DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

Research things. Read as much as you can about the topic. LEARN EVERYTHING YOU POSSIBLY CAN in order to present it in an authentic way!

Along with writing something you want to write about, you will also have learned something along the way.

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