Stop Writing About Writing

When a writer has absolutely no ideas what to write about, they invariably write a story about a writer who has nothing to write about. I don't want to read this and neither does anybody else. For one thing, I already know what it's like to be a writer who has no ideas. But even for people who aren't writers, it still remains that nobody wants to read a story about somebody who can't get any work done and wallows in their misery and frustration. The only people who enjoy stories like that already wallow in their own misery and frustration.

If you can't come up with any ideas, I'll give you my sympathy, I might even offer my help, but I will not give you my readership. Don't try to repackage your failure and tell me it's success. Keep looking for ideas and working on them until you have something good.

Be warned that prose is not the only medium where this can happen. People make movies about people making a movie. And way too many people make comics about people making comics. I've lost count of how many times I've found a comic, read the first few strips, which are about a person who can't come up with any ideas for their comic, and then the comic itself stops updating and never starts again.

Don't let this happen to you. Get out of your head. Get out of your world. Write about something that has nothing to do with you. Do whatever you need to keep yourself from being bored or lazy with your writing.

If you absolutely must write a story about a writer, at least find a hook. A show like Castle is about a writer, but one who uses his abilities for other purposes. The show is not about him alone at his desk, staring at a blank word document. It's about him actually out and about, doing something with his life. That's a story I will follow.

Getting In The Mood

I feel like writers, mostly amateur writers, are the most fickle workers around. They never seem to just write. They have to be in the mood to write. They have to be inspired to write. They have to be in the right setting to write.

Consider writing in terms of reading. Have you ever thought to yourself, I'm not in the mood for a horror story? You may not be in the mood for it, but if you pick up a good horror story and start reading it, you get pulled in. All of a sudden, you are very interested in a horror story.

Writing works the same way. You may not be in the mood to write, or maybe you simply aren't in the mood to write a horror story (or whatever genre), but just sit down and write a few sentences. The first ones may be like pulling teeth, but with every line, it gets a little easier. Eventually, you'll find yourself totally in the mood for writing.

I think that writing is a great way to get yourself in the mood to write. If that doesn't work, the next best method is to give yourself a deadline. Nothing gets you writing like lighting a fire under your butt.

If You Don't Use It, You Don't Have It

Suppose you are a writer, but you don't write. You're not just any writer, though; if you wrote a story, it would move people to tears or fits of laughter. But you never write a story. Whatever your excuse might be - bored, busy, sick, tired - the fact is that you aren't writing.

Now suppose you have a friend who just doesn't know how to write. Not to say that he's illiterate, but he just has no ability to tell a story. He never studied it and never picked it up anywhere else.

Are you and your friend any different from each other? I would have to say no. Regardless of the reason why, neither of you write any good stories. If you have an ability that you do not use, you may as well not have it.

If you are a writer, remember to write. My professor has said many times, "you're only a writer on the days you write." I have to agree. Now go out and be a writer.

If Shakespeare Can Do It, Why Can't You?

I have nothing against William Shakespeare. I do have problems with people who put him on a pedestal. The people who praise his actions and condemn any other writer for doing them as destroy the English language.

Shakespeare is noted for making up words. He's apparently coined over 3,000 of them. He's also considered a brilliant genius for doing so. I dare you to go and make up a word. Show your writing to somebody who loves Shakespeare. I'd be willing to bet that they will tell you that your made-up word is "not a real word". If that person happens to be a teacher of Shakespeare at a college, I'll pay 2-to-1.

What makes a word real? All you need is a definition people agree on. People think that a word has to already exist to be real, but that's nonsense. Somebody said it for the first time at some point. After that, if it's catchy it continues to live. If it's stupid, it dies.

What I'm getting at is that you should never let an icon, or even a personal hero keep you down. I know this sounds contradictory, since I recently said that you should make sure you have someone better than you at all times, but there is a difference. If you have a hero, you should aspire to be as good as them, and then to be better than them. If you look at your hero and you say that you're never going to be as good as them, then you need to rethink what you're doing.

William Shakespeare was a human being, flesh and blood, just like you and me (unless you happen to be an android of some sort). He wrote things and he put a great deal of effort into them. Because of his hard work and his skillful care, he created amazing pieces of writing. If you work hard and care enough about your own writing, you should do just as well. After all, if Shakespeare can do it, why can't you?

Writing What Disturbs You

As a writer, you could spend your whole life writing things that are fun and happy. You may find, though, that they are rather inconsequential. They're skin-deep. They're throwaway stories. If you're writing hollow stories, you may find yourself feeling unfulfilled.

Regardless of your genre, if you want your writing to be truly powerful, it will need to disturb you at some point. If you are writing a horror story, you need to create scenes where innocent people have terrifying and violent things happen to them. If you want to create a scene of intense joy, it can only come from somebody feeling intense pain or loss. Even in comedy, the funniest jokes are the ones that make you feel uncomfortable either while you listen to them or while you laugh at them.

In general, we are afraid of the things that disturb us, especially when they come from within our own minds. Why should we confront them when we can safely bottle them up and pretend they aren't there? Well, for one thing, it's pretty unhealthy to do. For another thing, your best writing will come from those stories that scare you. Think about it. If you can write a story that is so powerful that it makes you uncomfortable to write it, it will have the same power to those who read it.

You need to make people feel something. That is why we write. Even being detested means something. The worst thing you can do is write something that garners no reaction. If you want that power, then write something that disturbs you.

Head of The Class

Do you remember the smart kid in class? That guy knew everything (the dirty bastard). Part of you wanted to beat the crap out of him and part of you wished you could be him. Ignoring the violent part of your mind, think about what it would be like if you got your wish.

Suppose you are the smartest kid in class. I have one question for you: when you don't know the answer, who do you cheat off of? If your book is no good, and your teacher is confusing, a study session won't help.

When you're the top of your class, it can be pretty nice. You're on easy street. You don't have to work as hard as anybody else does and you do just fine.

Being the head of the class can also suck for just the same reason. Without anybody to inspire you to do better, or without a rival to try to do better than, what motivation do you have to get better? What benchmarks do you have to compare yourself to? If you only have subpar students to, then being better than them is no accomplishment. At best, all you can prove is that you're at least at par.

The same thing remains true with writing, in and out of school. If you ever think you are the head of the class, you might want to consider quitting; you no longer have anywhere to go but down. If you don't want to quit, then I suggest finding somebody better than you. Find somebody that challenges your skill and ability. Find somebody who forces you to experiment with new styles and techniques. Find somebody who forces you to learn.

Once you stop learning, you are instantly half as effective as you were. Don't let it happen to you.

Good Story Arcs

In the past, I've said that story arcs allow you to get several episodes out of a single idea. This is true, but not necessarily simple. There are right ways and wrong ways to make a story arc.

If you are writing a comic strip, you are more than welcome to make a story that takes several strips to tell, but remember the cardinal rule: every strip should be interesting. I say interesting because it covers both comedy and drama. If you are writing a funny comic with a not-too-serious story, then make sure every comic has at least one joke. If you are writing a comic and telling a deathly serious story, then every strip should make the reader need to see the next one. It should have some amount of shock and intrigue that makes us have to see the results of it.

It's very easy to fall into a number of pitfalls when writing story arcs. One is giving too much information; you have all the time you want, so don't try to cram everything into a small space. Giving too little information is also a problem. Make sure you aren't repeating information too much. Just because you have no space constraints doesn't mean you should drag your feet. Keep the story moving along.

Remember that every strip you have might be somebody's first exposure to your work. If they happen to come in right in the middle of a story, that doesn't mean they should be completely lost or confused. Not every comic has to be your greatest work ever, but it does need to be interesting enough to make them read another. If every comic can make somebody want to read another, then you've get a life-long reader.