Don’t Write What You Know
Brian Koppelman and David Levien didn’t grow up with a love for poker, yet they had a breakout success with the movie Rounders. Koppelman and Levien had no experience as billionaires or federal prosecutors, yet the created the hit Showtime series, Billions.
“Write what you know” has become standard writing advice, but these two writers clearly show it’s flaws.
When Koppleman and Levien set out to write Rounders, they spent a year living in the underground poker world. They soaked it up. They came to understand it from the inside out.
More recently, when they were developing Billions, they had dinners with billionaires. They got to know them. They wanted to capture exactly who they were and what motivated them.
Both projects started with something very simple: curiosity.
They were curious and so their creative journey began.
“All the artist needs is the idea that they believe in and then to take steps to manifest it.”
— Brian Koppelman
They didn’t start with something they knew. They did not make a list of things they had competency in or expertise in writing about. Instead, they found something that they were excited to explore. They followed their curiosity and found a story worth telling.
Where does any successful artistic project begin? Curiosity.
Inspired by James Altucher’s interview with Brian Koppelman. Listen to it here.
