Screenwriting : Write what you know? Or no? by Luke Sokolewicz

i took that saying literally with my first script, but over the years I've realized that what it actually means is, write stories about emotions that you know. If you can infuse your characters with those, people will connect with them. Everything else can be learned.

Thanks for the advice Phillip. Much appreciated.

If that were the case no one would have ever written Star Wars ;-) Write what you want to write, make the characters real and their stories genuine. For everything else use Google.

Philip has it right. And Star Wars is very much a human story that audiences can identify with. You have a young man struggling between the dream he wants to follow and his responsibilities to the farm. It doesn't matter if the dream is going to college or going into space. Becoming a pilot in a rebellion is exactly the same desire a lot of young men & women felt honor-bound to do after the towers fell. Star Wars is a coming of age story about a young man trying to find his place-- we have all experienced that. It's about writing the human experiences you've had-- abuse, addiction, abandonment, identity, betrayal, love, rage, revenge, acceptance, forgiveness... it goes on and on... It's not about the setting, it's about experience.

What the other guys said, but be careful. If you don't know jack about the military, don't write an action film set in Falluja unless you REALLY REALLY REALLY do your homework. War films, courtroom dramas, police procedurals... hell, even corporate-set stuff. Certain milieus require deep knowledge, and when you fake it you look like an amateur. Unless you're a terrific researcher. But of course you're adding a big work load, and you really have to get it right. I read those all the time: a military action film from a guy who's barely risen from the couch in last decade. Or something set in a Wall Street boardroom written by a Brooklyn barista who just got his BFA. It almost always reads as phony. Very hard to do, unless you're willing to put the work in.

It's one of the most misunderstood pieces of writing advice ever. I'm glad to see the previous writers all understand what it actually means. If you know what it's like to be a growing young person who wishes for something better and struggles with breaking the bonds of your parents then you can write a science fiction story that takes place a log time ago in a galaxy far, far away. A writer can take what they know - what is unique to them - and tell a great story that takes place during war time in Falluja or in a Wall Street boardroom. I agree with Kerry, hard to do. But isn't working hard a wonderful challenge for a writer?

Yeah, D, working hard is a wonderful challenge. That said, everyone's early scripts stink... I think most writers agree you need to cut your teeth on a few throwaways before you know (basically) what you're doing. So I definitely wouldn't counsel a young writer to start with a high-level-of-difficulty script that might suck up years of their time. Write a dopey thriller set in a college dorm, if that's your base of experience. Once you've written a few things and have some confidence, THEN spend three years understanding life in a barracks in Falluja. I've personally seen young writers spend years on a project that was over their head... I'm not talking hypothetically. It's definitely not a good place to start, in my opinion. For you, maybe. For a just starting out writer: no.

Unless, you're the most interesting person in the world. Write your passion project.

Obviously, if you draw from experience, your material will have better chance of being believable. However, some of my best work has required research. I do enough to feel comfortable about what I'm writing about.

I agree with Phillip, I am just starting and I find myself taking from my life experiences and stories but I think the further along you get the more comfortable you get with taking chances.

Know what you write.

And what about Suspension of Disbelief? If the characters are genuine, does it allow the audience to forgive some of that "phoniness?" If the characters are believable enough, does it take the sting out of the weaker aspects of the film? Does that believability bleed out to the rest of the film?

@JD: no.

So, we're just supposed to watch Star Wars and literally believe we're watching a true story about a boy going into space and becoming a Jedi?

First answer nails it. As for "forgiving phoniness", why not just do the danged research? It's fun! You get to ride along in cop cars, tour nuclear subs, drink with Navy SEALS, etc. Oh, and read a pile of books.

@JD, when you said "phoniness" I thought you were referring to what I was talking about earlier... writers who take on unfamiliar topics like the military or Wall Street without doing their homework. If you're talking about fantasy, then I withdraw my response. (I wouldn't really think of Star Wars as "phony", though. There's a difference between phoniness -- which I'd consider always bad -- and fantasy. But I guess it comes down to how you're using the word.) Anyway, sorry for the terse answer if I misunderstood your question.

Maybe I'm getting lost in something Kerry had said about doing extensive research, but if writing what you know is about generalizing experiences you have had into a fictional world, how is experiencing something narrow and specific going to help you accomplish this? It's impossible to know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING. I'm not saying don't do any research, but there comes a point where the research effort would overwhelm the writing effort. Writing is the most important part. Otherwise, you wouldn't be conducting the research. How do you know when too much research is too much research?

@Kerry No offense taken.

You can't know everything about everything, but you need to know enough about your topic of choice. I guess the benchmark is (for example): if you're writing a courtroom drama, show it to a trial lawyer. If they say, "yeah, that's about right", then you've done enough research.

Gotcha. Thanks for setting me straight. lol. I just joined Stage32, and I'm trying to get my first screenplay optioned. I guess you could say I'm starting out, and I'm a little bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with how the industry actually works. Many thanks for your advice. All of you.

I love to research so if I don't know it when I start then I do when I'm done. I prefer to say "write what you love" instead.

I hope writers do NOT write about "what they know" --- because most people know very little. Then comes research.

This is why writer's should be philosophers, psychologists and a master of some trades. Live life outside your computer to know how to write about other people's lives.

Something I learned the hard way in my early magazine days: Don't write what you know until you know how to write. The worry about writing what you know is that you'll leave out information that is vitally important to anyone who doesn't know what you're talking about. To you, it is as obvious as the fact that there are 10.4 nucleotide base pairs per turn of the DNA double helix (okay...maybe not that obtuse). If, however, you have been at this for some time and know how to write to a broader audience than just biotechnology enthusiasts (my example), then go for it. Translate your enthusiasm for the subject to your readers and audience. Randy

All really great stuff guys. Really appreciate everyone's perspective and advice. Thanks!

Eoin said it best. "Know what you write." If you don't know something, research it, know your characters, know what you want to say. How many of us own an R2D2? How many of us struck an iceberg while on the Titanic? Facts are easy, characters are hard.

I like to research, so I am doing a lot of research in many fields, including geography, oceanography, weather/climate, technology, anthropology, economics, etc. for my first novel that will be an apocalyptic Christian fiction series.