Writing About What You Don’t Know?

We all know it is best to write about what you know. 200%. Your writing will be more authentic and will connect better with viewers. This is not just lived experience but also topics you may be an expert in. For example, if you are a writer with a background in eighteenth century history, it would make sense that you would write about this.

But what happens when you are writing something that may be about you know in terms of messaging, but there are things you want a character to be involved in or have a background in that you don’t know about and haven’t lived through yourself? Does this mean you can’t write about that? Absolutely not. However, depending on how entangled it is in your story, you will need to do a few things to make it work right.

If it is a general reference or something a character refers to but you do not go into detail about it, you might just be able to do some online research or meet an expert for a cup of coffee to ask some questions. Maybe ask that person if they will review what you end up writing and confirm it is accurate. Besides the coffee, you can give them a thank you in the credits in return. Doesn’t cost you much and allows someone who is passionate about something to be acknowledged for the knowledge they have accumulated over the years.

If you are writing a script that revolves around a topic you do not know much about but are fascinated by, that’s great! Take some classes, do some reading and perhaps consider hiring a consultant onto your team (or partnering with one) that is an expert in this area. You can hire someone who is not a fictional writer. (In fact, I think that is best so there is no clashing…especially if you are used to writing your scripts alone.) That person can just be there as a resources as you plan how the story will evolve and how you will work in details about the topic. The expert will have suggestions of important details and more importantly the language one would use when speaking of them.

It’s okay not to be an expert in anything and to ask for help, even if you can’t afford to pay much. People who are enthusiastic about something love to share and love to get more people excited about them.