Matt Witten, author of The Necklace shares his top writing tips for his younger self

21 March 2022

When I was 32 years old, my wife was pregnant with our first son. We were highly impecunious at the time. I.e., we were dead broke. So I decided I would write up a screenplay idea that I thought would be highly commercial called The President’s Daughter. The only problem was, I wasn’t into it. What I really wanted to do was write a one-man play about a homeless man I’d met on the streets of Brooklyn. But how could I make such a choice? It was crazy! No way would I ever make any money from a play like that.

Matt Witten

But my wife told me, “Write what you love.” So I did, and the play, Sacred Journey, got produced all over the world. Not only did it make me some money, it was also probably the most meaningful thing, for me, that I’ve ever written. Whereas if I’d written The President’s Daughter, when my heart wasn’t in it, I’m confident it would have been crap and earned me zero dollars.

So my first writing tip for my younger self would be the same tip my wife gave me: write what you love.

My second tip would be: pick a good life partner.

Over the years, I’ve accumulated other writing wisdom as well. I’ve discovered that physical exercise is way more important in the creative process than I realized. The great crime writer Lawrence Block once said, and I’m paraphrasing, that ninety percent of people’s good ideas have occurred while they were walking. I believe that’s true; and I would estimate that the other ten percent occurred while they were swimming or bicycling. (Okay, I admit, people get good ideas in the shower too.)

There are other things I sort of knew when I was young, but understand much more fully now, like: character character character. You can have the greatest plot in the world, but if people don’t care about your hero, they just won’t care.

Also: writing is rewriting. Nobody ever gets it right in the first draft. Ever. I wish that when I was in my twenties or early thirties, I hadn’t worried so much about making my first drafts perfect.

I’ve also learned over the past twenty years how helpful it is to try and tell your story in one sentence, and one paragraph. That can really help you clarify, for yourself, what the story is that you’re trying to tell.

Another strategy I use now is that before I start writing a novel, TV pilot, or screenplay, I write up a five to ten-page synopsis and share it with a few trusted friends. That helps me start off in the right direction; I go down fewer blind alleys than I used to when I was young.

The one thing I’ve always known, even when I was younger, is: be part of a writing group. Writing can be a lonely business – but it can also be surprisingly convivial. Find your peeps!