Scriptwriting: Head vs. Heart

As April approaches, I find myself thinking more and more about my Script Frenzy script. But unfortunately, I don't yet have anything to show for it. I'm still struggling with choosing a topic. I have a number of stories that have been bouncing around my head for years but I feel that as a new scriptwriter I should try to avoid getting carried away or overwhelmed by sticking to a subject that I know. This is currently my biggest quandary: should I let my imagination run wild or write only what I know? Should I set out to write the next adventure/thriller or the next indie coming of age story?

On one hand "writing what you know" seems rather limiting and in a sense it is; it requires that you rein in your imagination and limit it to familiar terrain. But on the other hand, "writing what you know" calls for extreme creativity because it forces you to explore your own world with fresh eyes and a more scrutinizing perspective.

Only as I begin to really contemplate the task of capturing something that I know do I realize what a challenge that would be. If I decide to follow the age-old advice of writing "what I know," I'm going to have to ask myself some giant epistemological questions: "What is it that I know? Of what do I specifically have intimate knowledge? What have my experiences given me the authority to write about?" I think the different approaches to answering these questions is where the creativity comes in.

What would you suggest for a first-time scriptwriter? Do you start by writing what's in your head or what's in your heart? How much do you pull from your own experiences when writing?

– Jessie

Photo by Flickr user redcargurl