One inevitability about writing a novel – or at least about writing more than one novel – is that, at some point, you are going to have to write about things that you have never done and about which you know nothing.

For instance, your characters will have jobs you know nothing about. Your plot will demand a scene in which someone fixes a complicated problem with the car despite you not being entirely sure which bit is the radiator when you open the bonnet for a look inside. A large chunk of your story will depend on a subject with which you were entirely unfamiliar before you started to write it.

It happens a lot, and so we need a strategy for writing about things we’ve never done, and about topics on which our knowledge is limited at best.

One obvious solution is to do some research to learn about whatever it is you’re planning to write about. Talk to people who have that job or who know about that subject, and give yourself a crash course in it.

That’s one strategy, but there is sometimes a slight danger of loading your manuscript with too many facts and details as a result. You’ve done the research and it’s only natural that you’ll want to share what you’ve learnt, but it’s important to be careful and sparing with the information used. It doesn’t always take much to make something believable.

In a way, this is the great thing about writing about stuff you’re unfamiliar with; often all you need is a few salient details to lend your story credibility. After all, your story is about the characters; focusing on their point of view and experience of things is more important than getting every single technical aspect correct.

Besides, this is fiction. We’re allowed to make stuff up. It’s one of the best things about our craft. Research is important as it allows us to write about things we’ve never experienced, but there is also a lot to be said for the interpretation your own experience brings. In many ways, it is about how you use that to your own advantage rather than worrying about becoming an expert in whatever it is you’re writing about.

What do you think? How do you go about writing about things you’re not an expert in?