A recent post in a writer’s group I use for research was about terminology and specific procedures. The writer finished their post with an acknowledgement they had little experience in the subject.

One member replied with, “The answer is in your last paragraph. Write what you know.” which considering the group’s purpose is to assist writers in getting the details correct for their creative masterpiece, was an annoyingly ignorant response.

Like many phrases, the context in which it’s used is key, and sadly, the responder had the delusional belief they were providing sage advice. Perhaps next time, I’ll direct them to authors like Mary Shelley, HG Wells, Lois McMaster Bujold or a host of other fantasy, science fiction, and horror writers to show how useless that answer can be.

A better phrase would be “Use your experiences.”

Now, I’m not saying write your actual experiences unless you’re intending to write a non-fiction piece or a memoir. Instead, combine things you have experienced with your imagination and develop your creative writing.

After all, I’m pretty certain Mary Shelley never met a reanimated man stitched together from a multitude of body parts, or that HG Wells travelled to the future, discovered mankind’s failures and returned to write about it.

During the summer holidays of my childhood, while my friends were flying abroad to fully catered resorts, packed beaches, and, for a lucky few, Disney in America, I explored caves, climbed mountains, swam or sailed rivers and trekked through deep green forests.

Each year was one of four locations where we explored the seemingly endless openness of Derbyshire’s Peak District, the forested hills of Wales’s Brecon Beacons, and a multitude of caves and beaches in Devon or Cornwall.

After that, it was much closer and equally fun day trips to St Helen’s in Thetford, much of the Norfolk coast and the occasional old English fayre where I wore chain mail, heaved a sword or watched jousting and muskets being fired.

When we wrote the epic fantasy The Nacocit Pact, it didn’t matter I had no first-hand knowledge of elves or magic or strange creatures, because I had something better. The active imaginations of two writers and my mind, filled with childhood adventures and memories; and with these elements, I have an abundance of resources to draw from.

So, the next time you’re stuck and unsure of what to write, tap into your memories or browse an old photo album and try adding those details to your scenes.