9 Dos & Don’ts of Writing What You Know: A Guide to Authentic and Engaging Writing

One of the most common pieces of advice given to writers is to “write what you know.” At first glance, this might seem limiting—should you only write about your own life and experiences? Not necessarily. Writing what you know is about writing with soul—drawing from your own understanding, emotions, and experiences to create a deeper, more authentic connection with readers.

(25 Common Writing Mistakes Writers Make—and How to Fix Them.)

I write thrillers. Although my books sit firmly in the commercial, page-turning category of fast and easy reading—every one of my stories is rooted in the familiar. If you want to engage readers, they need to relate to what you are writing about along with the ups and downs your characters are experiencing.

However, writing about what you know requires a careful balance. Here’s a guide to the dos and don’ts of writing what you know.

Even though your work is fiction, being conscious of your own emotions, observations, and insights and threading them through your work can add depth to your characters and themes. Think about your own experiences of joy, loss, love, or failure. How did you feel in those moments? What did you learn from them?

When I wrote Good Girls Die Last, I was (like many women at the time) struggling with the injustices and fear that came with the Sarah Everard murder inquiry. By channeling those emotions into my thriller, alongside my own experiences as a woman in my 20s working in London and suffering at the hands of misogynistic micro-aggressions, I was able to create scenarios and characters that—although fictitious—felt very real to the reader.

If you have expertise in a particular field, such as medicine, law, or technology, use it to enrich your writing. It’s no coincidence that many lawyers have gone on to write brilliant crime novels (for example authors Imrad Mahmood and Harriet Tyce are barristers, and John Grisham is a lawyer). 

Writing what you know means incorporating elements of your knowledge in a way that adds realism. That doesn’t mean that if you’ve never arranged flowers before you can’t have a character in your book who is a florist, but if that profession is a pivotal part of the plot readers will be able to tell whether the book has been written with prior knowledge. 

This is why many of my characters work in marketing, PR, or other professions I’m familiar with. I doubt I will ever write a book featuring an astronaut as space isn’t a huge passion of mine, plus that profession would involve a huge amount of research which I’m likely to get very wrong.

Even if you aren’t writing about your own life, the people and events around you can provide an endless source of inspiration. Good writers are nosy—you will find us sitting in cafes, on trains, on a park bench listening and watching. 

Observing how others interact, understanding their motivations, and reflecting on the societal issues affecting your world can help create compelling characters and settings. Nothing takes you out of a story that you are reading faster than unrealistic dialogue or reactions.

Writing what you know doesn’t necessarily mean limiting yourself to writing about your exact experiences, but your story will have a lot more depth if you are familiar with what your character is going through.

My latest thriller, While My Baby Sleeps, tackles postpartum sleep deprivation. Following the birth of my two daughters, I spent four years struggling with lack of sleep to the point of having to seek medical help. Those were some of the most harrowing years of my life. Exploring the lack of help and understanding I received during that time inspired me to create a thriller where the protagonist is so confused and exhausted she can’t be sure if she’s the one who murdered her neighbor.

I’d like to think that my own experiences add a lot more depth and poignancy to the book than an experience I had merely researched.

Most of my books are set in London, and there’s a reason for that—it’s the city I was born and raised in, and a place very close to my heart. One of the most effective ways to write what you know is to use real-life settings that you’re familiar with.

Good Girls Die Last is set over 24-hours following one woman traveling through London on foot during a heatwave…while a killer is on the loose. The sights, sounds, and even the smell of London in the summer is very unique and not something you can simply Google. Using your own evocative memories of a place will help readers feel transported to a world that’s vivid and authentic.

While drawing from personal experience is important, limiting yourself solely to your own life can narrow your creative possibilities. It would all get rather boring if every single one of a writer’s books was a reflection of their life (not to mention limiting for historical, fantasy, and horror authors)!

Good fiction and writing often involve imagining the experiences of others—especially those with perspectives and backgrounds different from your own. Don’t shy away from researching and imagining experiences that are outside your own reality, as well as working with those who have lived experiences to add credibility and authenticity.

We all know how exciting it is to write about what we know and love, but don’t fall into the trap of including too much insider knowledge when writing about something you know well. I once read a manuscript where the author described a car in explicit detail. He was, predictably, a car fanatic—yet the book was a thriller. 

The problem with adding more detail than necessary is that readers will file away everything you’re telling them, and if the make and model of a car and the workings of its engine is not integral to the plot you will lose reader interest.

Just because something feels true to you doesn’t mean it will resonate with everyone. Be mindful of the assumptions you make about your audience’s familiarity with or understanding of your experiences or you may alienate them. Readers should not be able to see you or your opinions between the words…not unless you are writing a memoir or nonfiction.

This is the hardest thing to tackle as a writer. Although it may feel healing to connect with readers who are struggling with the same things you are, remember your story is about your characters and not you.

While writing My Daughter’s Revenge, I was very conscious of where I began, and the main character, Jules, ended. Although I too am a mother in my mid-40s with a teenage daughter, and a lot of Jules’ frustrations and concerns mirrored my own, my relationship with my teens and husband are nothing like hers.

Writing about things you know adds depth and nuance to fiction, likewise it can help you untangle feelings and past experiences. But with that comes complications. Although it may feel cathartic to explore big themes in your writing, in order to write well you will find yourself experiencing some of the emotions your protagonists are feeling. Although you may think this will be cathartic and healing, oftentimes it can be triggering and will access repressed memories you will then have to manage.

Writing While My Baby Sleeps was much harder for me than I anticipated. Instead of bringing me closure, it actually transported me back to a time I had worked hard to forget. So protect your mental health and, unless you are prepared, try not to fly too close to the sun!

Writing what you know is about drawing from your own experiences, emotions, and insights to create stories that feel authentic and engaging. By tapping into what’s true for you, you can create characters, settings, and plots that resonate deeply with readers. However, it’s essential to avoid turning your books into therapy or limiting yourself to themes, characters or settings that are all the same. Make space for imagination, empathy, and research. When done thoughtfully, writing what you know can lead to powerful, memorable storytelling that connects with readers on a human level.

Check out Natali Simmonds' While My Baby Sleeps here:

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