Write What’s In You
For all writers out there and people with creative dreams (especially screenwriters or entertainment-inclined folks)
Hey friends – this is a quick post with a little advice I hope you’ll find helpful and enlightening. It’s for all you aspiring and new writers out there, or anyone with creative-based dreams.
STOP seeking direction elsewhere.
You must write what’s in you.
Sure, read books on the craft, get inspired by your favorite movies and shows, novels, art, music, etc.
But when you write… when you create characters… when you dream up a story to tell… Your best work will come from within– within your own life and your own imagination.
Am I saying “only write about the events in your life”? Of course not! Most of the events of our lives are not worth putting on the screen. Even folks who’ve done extraordinary things sometimes need a story boost when translating their real lives to the big or small screen.
But there are certain truths about our shared humanity, about love, about the human condition that we can derive from our lived experiences. Put that into your work. Even if your truth is different from my truth is different from someone else’s, grounding your stories and characters in something TRUE to you, will help those characters feel more real.
No matter how fantastical the exterior of your story (sci-fi or fantasy or horror or some other genre) there is ALWAYS some emotional truth to be pulled from your lived experience that will make the world you’re building feel richer.
What’s a lived experience?
Something that happened to you, to someone in your family, to a friend, an acquaintance… Witnessing something that happened in the world that caused you to have an emotional response. This is all lived experience in my opinion.
And when you go to WRITE WHAT’S IN YOU… Try not to copy your favorite show. Try not to start from what you think others want. Try not to compare yourself to other industry greats.
JUST WRITE… From your own life. From your own interests. From the world happening around you.
Writing about the world from your own personal vantage point is what VOICE is. Listen to it, follow it, trust it.
And here’s the WHY. Why your own life and mind should be the first places you ever turn to when it’s time to sit down and be a storyteller:
Your best writing comes from you being deeply connected to it. Passionate about it. Whether it’s the silliest, broadest comedy or the heaviest, tear-inducing drama. Because that connection, that human perspective will give you the ability to ground your characters in something true. To give them dimensions, contradictions, to make them feel something deeply or believe certain things about the world around THEM.
And guess what? The more specific and true and real you make those characters, the more they will resonate with audiences. People will connect to your specific character derived from your lived experience, grounded in real emotion, because you’re a human being. And our humanity, the emotional reactions we have to the world around us, is shared.
Therefore: the specific journey of your character in your story will feel universally true to more people than you think.
So, no matter how weird or irrelevant you think it is, if a REAL experience of yours is tugging at you, THAT’S your greatest story inspiration.
And that’s what will resonate (comfort, surprise, intrigue, entertain) your audience. No matter what genre wrapper you put on it.
Copying other people’s style or cliches (even though cliches can be loved) is a fast train to nowhere when you’re just starting out. And I know what you’re thinking…
“Most things I see coming out of Hollywood are derivative or reboots or something I’ve seen a million times...”
You’re not wrong. Studios often ask proven writers to reboot something or write a new version of “the thing that made a ton of money before.” But if you do that while you’re trying to break in, those reading what you’ve written will think you’re stale and unoriginal.
You have to be the fresh voice. The maverick. And the good news? NO ONE SEES THE WORLD EXACTLY THE WAY YOU SEE IT! Write from your vantage point and you’ll have a head start on feeling fresh. Actively avoid cliches and come up with something wholly original; then, my friend, you’ve got what EVERYONE here is looking for.
That’s my advice on being your own muse. And please know, there will be people in and around this industry who will give you the OPPOSITE advice. Be more like _____, they’ll say. There will be people who tell you to copy what’s been done because that’s what SELLS. Just nod, understand why what this other writer did was great, and then turn inward. Pull inspiration from yourself. Your life. Your emotions. Your experiences. Even when they seem weird or irrelevant.
Write what you want, not what you think others want. Base your creativity off of yourself, not what others tell you is already successful.
Yes, even when that person is an agent or studio or manager or producer.
Write what excites you. Write that weird thing you can’t stop thinking about. That thing you’re AFRAID to write. That thing that you saw happen to your best friend– only you are going to make the character based on your best friend a thousand-year-old vampire who survived the apocalypse.
Writing what’s fresh and true for YOU is what will:
Best represent your voice
Best differentiate you
And best resonate with your audience