How to Write About Things You Don’t Know

One of the main obstacles we face as writers is writing about things we know absolutely nothing about. We’re drawn to writing for the freedom it gives us to create worlds and visit places we’ve never seen (which is obviously more interesting than writing about what we know). But this freedom also poses a challenge.

I recently encountered this problem when writing Monsters and Heroes; I was fine with the quest through the dark forest and the royal family, but then came a scene involving a bath, of all things, and I realized my mind was blank. How should I know what bathing in a palace would actually look like in an old-time setting?

What makes fiction feel believable, even if you’re writing about things you’ve never experienced, are three things:

• Exposure: how a setting looks and feels

• Context: how people think and behave

• Specific details: things that only a person who’s been there would know

The best way to understand a setting is to live in it, but since only a few of us can teleport to the Viking age, go live for a year in Japan, or find a portal to a magical, goblin-filled forest, we’ll have to do it relying only on modern magic: information at our fingertips.

1. A Little Bit of Screen Time Can Go A Long Way

An easy way to study a place or period is through movies and series. Though one might not be enough if you want to capture the world as someone who lives there.

Make a list of documentaries, films, shows, YouTube channels, and anything you can find. Be cautious, though; period dramas are often criticized for historical inaccuracies, especially in costume or design. Luckily, there are creators and historians online who are passionate about getting those details right.

If your story takes place in a modern country you’ve never visited, following a local content creator can also help you grasp real-life moods, slang, and nuances.

2. If You Want to Write—Read

Another great way of getting into the head of someone from a different time or culture is through books. If you want to understand 19th-century Russia, Dostoyevsky will serve you a heavy dose of existential depression. And if you want to grasp (relatively) modern Japanese sentiments, Murakami might be your guide.

Writers who grew up in the setting they depict often reveal layers that a documentary can’t. The only risk with this approach is the references and social commentary that might fly over your head, leaving you confused.

The Master and Margarita is one such book for me. I had to read it twice, the second time with my parents explaining all the political critique and nuances that I didn’t get.

3. Let Your Digital Personal Assistant Do The Heavy Lifting

I know what you’re thinking, but hear me out:

What if your story takes place in a generic old-time setting and you only need specific details? For instance, the first chapter of my current work in progress contains a scene taking place in the shop of a blacksmith, a trade I know only the basics about. I didn’t need to learn everything there is to know about social dynamics, customs, or the work process, but just enough to make the shop come to life: things that pull you into the scene, like how it smells inside, and what you see and hear upon entry.

For specific information like that, Google and AI tools can help you find the details you need without sifting through dozens of irrelevant articles.

As with movies, you’ll need to verify your sources, especially if your story references times and places that actually exist (with fantasy, you get a bit more of a margin for errors).

So while AI shouldn’t do the writing for you, it can be utilized to help with focused research. I find that asking it to provide references and sources helps ensure you’re working with facts and not hallucinations.

Final Thoughts

“Write what you know” is good advice, particularly for beginner writers, but then again, who wants to read a book about an accountant in Toronto who signed up to the gym but never goes there (or whatever other uninteresting routine you’re at home with).

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to expand and write about faraway places, different times, and magical landscapes. But you need to make it sound realistic.

To write convincingly about things you’ve never experienced, focus on three tools:

• Watch shows, documentaries, and movies about the time or place of interest

• Read books set in that universe

• Utilize search engines and AI for dedicated research

Oh, and also learn when to stop from getting pulled into various rabbit holes, but that’s another topic.

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