Screenwriting : 'Writing what you know' by Nikita Simpson

Nikita Simpson

'Writing what you know'

Hi all - hope everyone is doing okay and had a nice weekend!

I just wanted to share my thoughts on writing what you know/experience. The entire idea for my short 'Whistle-Stop' stemmed from a fenced-off compound I live nearby in real life. So if you're struggling with inspiration, I really recommend paying attention to even seemingly benign things you see/experience every day. Combine them, twist them around. It can really develop into something great. Even opening Final Draft is a victory sometimes. Keep writing!

I also just wanted to say thank you to all those who have connected and messaged . Also for all of your feedback, thoughts, and idea on my other posts. It's been so incredibly helpful to me.

All the best, Nikita

Maurice Vaughan

Hope you're doing okay and had a nice weekend too, Nikita Simpson! Great advice. I combine movies and come up with script ideas, but I haven't thought about combining things I see/experience. Thanks for the idea!

Antony Voronov

Thank you for the reminder and for your meaningful words. The Russian poet Anna Akhmatova has beautiful lines about how art can emerge from simple things.

If only you knew what kind of trash

Poems shamelessly grow in:

Like bright dandelions by a fence,

Like burdock and like cocklebur.

Vamsi Tankala

I believe stories are everywhere, embedded in the world around us. I enjoy the narratives that are rooted in real-life events or situations we encounter daily, but I enjoy adding creative, fictional twists whether through action or thriller elements to make them more captivating and engaging. As someone new to writing and screenwriting, I am eager to learn from this amazing community. I do not like too much or heavy graphics, cgi LoL.

CJ Walley

There's two layers to writing what you know:

1) There's writing what you've experienced in the physical world, in terms of working a certain job, living in a certain place, or going through a certain experience.

2) There's writing what you've learned in the immaterial world, in terms of what you have come to accept about life, realised about existence, and feel about humanity.

The former is compelling for those who haven't experienced it and the latter is spiritual medicine for those who haven't found an answer to it.

Vamsi Tankala

Totally i agree with you, glad to learn.

Nikita Simpson

CJ Walley Very interesting take, thanks for sharing. I never really thought of it that way. I assume they're also not mutually exclusive; experiences in the physical and immaterial, and could make for great writing.

Nikita Simpson

Maurice Vaughan Thank you! I usually don't think about that. I'm always so paranoid I'm going to subconsciously copy ideas from other movies, so I try and avoid it. But maybe I'll have a brainstorm and see what comes up. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Nikita Simpson

Antony Voronov Very profound, and very useful. I'm not familiar with Anna, but I will have a look at her works. Likewise thank you for the advice and your words! :)

Nikita Simpson

Paul Perezei Thanks for sharing, I'm so glad that works for you too. It really is the best tool at our disposal, especially in times of creative drought

Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Nikita Simpson. When I combine movies and come up with script ideas, it's basically just "Mad Max meets Shrek." It's not copying ideas.

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