Write what you know. That’s it!

I was once told that you should write what you know. Write what you know? It's kind of simple, right? But as human beings, sometimes we can make things more difficult than they really are. It’s almost as if we don't understand simplicity. How can you write what you don't know?

How could you explain something to someone when you didn't understand it in the first place?

But then I looked at my stack of short stories and character summaries of characters that were as different from me as they could get and, for the first time, I understood what people meant when they said that I should right what I know.

You might argue, "No one wants to hear about how I took out the garbage or how I almost crashed into the car in front of me because I was fiddling with the radio. Who cares?"

No matter what you might think, two truths remain: The only way to be a great writer is to write, and the best way to make your writing real is to write what you know. When you write about a character or situation that you understand you are able to give your writing a depth that would not be possible otherwise.

You understand what you are writing. You've been there and your reader can sense that. It is always obvious when a writer truly understands their subject matter.

The words seem to pop and separate themselves from the superficial and the words become real.

When you learn to write what you know, your spirit will resonate through your writing. Your reader will feel the emotions you felt as you were writing those very words on the page. To be honest, that is how one can identify a true writer. A writer can make a reader experience a kaleidoscope of emotions solely through the power of words.

Write what you know! Write about the traumatic experience you had trying to get the toy out of the bottom of the cereal box. Write about that time in second grade when the boy behind you pulled your pigtails and you realize now that he must have liked you and you blushed.

Write about the words that you didn't have as you watched your best friend walk away from you. Chances are someone else has had a similar experience and they will love your writing for giving words to something they couldn't. Write what you know and your words will speak.