Be Discriminate

As a writer you should be deliberate; you should make sure that everything you do is for a reason. Along with that, you should also be discriminate; you should care about everything you do and place the proper attention on each aspect of your writing.

One of the aspects of writing I mentioned was the use of soft and hard sounds. The is a significant aspect, but its significance depends on the particular piece of writing. For example, if you are writing a technical manual (e.g. how to operate your new fax machine), one could say that it can be completely ignored. I would say that it only deserves enough attention to not make readers trip over themselves when reading.

If you are writing a novel, hard and soft sounds become more important. You want to make your readers feel what you are saying and the right combination can create a meaningful impact. However, it is not the most important aspect to writing a novel, so it shouldn't get top priority. It should be paid attention to, but not priarily focused on.

If you are writing a speech, use of hard and soft sounds are critical. Hard sounds are powerful, awakening, empowering. They make people know when you are being serious. Soft sounds are flowing and moving. They make people follow along and they set people up for a punch. However, too many hard sounds are difficult to say and difficult to process. Too many soft sounds are boring and slippery. It is very important that you use them in such a manner that it captivates the audience.

So be discriminate. Make sure that every aspect of writing is getting the appropriate level of attention for the particular form of writing you are doing.

Be Deliberate

It really bothers me when people do something "to be different". That is no reason to do anything. For one thing, you probably aren't being different; you're probably using a style from somebody you haven't heard of. More importantly, you're wasting precious resources.

There are so many aspects of writing. Specific meaning, rise and fall of tones, use of soft and hard sounds, lengths of sentences, rhythm of sentences, all of these and countless more each affect how the audience will receive your writing.

When you write, you should be deliberate with your words. Make each one do as much as it can. If you choose empty words, you will either use several times as many words as you need to express yourself or you will not be as clear as you could.

This principle is crucial in prose writing because it is completely unregulated. When you look into other forms of writing, they are self-evident. Poetry is about capturing the essence of a scene with as few words as possible. The quintessential form of poetry is the haiku, which comes with self-imposed limitation. Haiku is so iconic because from the great limitation comes great creation. People are forced to be masterfully precise, forced to be deliberate with every decision, and the work shines because of it.

Treat all of your writing like haiku. Force yourself to be masterfully precise. If you do, then people will recognize your work as masterful. If you fail, you're still probably doing pretty darn good.

Eliminate the Pedestal

One of the most damaging things you can do in the writing community is put other people on a pedestal. If you go up to people and tell them that you don't deserve to be in their presence, they just might believe you.

The point of a community is that the people in it are equals. They all share the same goals, all strive to achieve them, all have our highs and lows. More importantly, we're all human beings. We sleep, eat, get sick, and get better.

Some people might be further along than you are. Some people might do work that you think is better than your own. That's just fine. You should respect those people and where they are. Just don't elevate them to the status of gods. If you carry yourself like a professional, you just might find that other people in the community will see you that way too.

Painful Love or Loveless Pain

There is a saying that if you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life. While I do believe it's true, I also have never found a job that was a true easy street. No matter what you do for work, you're going to have to work for it. The important question is, what kind of work do you want to do?

For artists (like writers), the big divide is whether your job is to make art or make money. Both come with their rewards and drawbacks. If you choose to be a professional artist, then there will be a great deal of struggle trying to make money off of it. It is a slow start and a long crawl to get anywhere. After that, if you can make it, you will have to deal with deadlines and expectations and audience demands. The upshot is that you are doing what you love and creating something that you're proud of. For as much pain as you have to go through, it is a labor of love.

The other side of the coin is doing a job for the sole purpose of making money. Of course, this is not necessarily an easier life path. You still have to start at the bottom of the totem pole, claw your way up, and deal with deadlines and expectations. The nice thing is that you will be making a lot of money and will be able to afford the finer things in life. The drawback is that your work is an alien part of your life, so you will spend a large chunk of your time doing something you don't care about.

Personally, I would choose the painful love of trying to be a writer as a profession than the loveless pain of doing a job I don't care about.

Don't Overthink

There is no denying that human beings are complicated. We all have several layers, each one with its own set of feelings and beliefs. Sometimes those feelings are at odds with each other. In writing, it serves as a great tool for creating internal tension and conflict.

When you are creating a character, it is useful to know all of that character's layers. You will be able to give them the most realistic actions and decisions. The problem with this is that you can easily get too wrapped up in what your characters are thinking. This will make you less productive and your writing will suffer.

Don't overthink with your characters. When people need to make decisions, they often don't think things through. People choose whatever they want the most at the time. If a man is offered some ice cream and he is really in the mood for it, he's going to eat that ice cream. It doesn't matter that he is overweight and is at risk for diabetes. If, however, that character is not in the mood for ice cream, then they won't take it.

Very few people weigh every single factor on each side of a decision. Whatever pulls them the strongest wins. Now, I know it is far easier said than done, but let me sum it up in a single piece of advice. Instead of asking yourself what you would do in that situation or what you would do if you were that character, just ask yourself what that character really wants. Then have them do it.

Pick the Proper Format

In the past, I've made a point that you should pick a style of writing that suits you. I still stand by this, but need to add an addendum. Within a style of writing, you need to pick the formal that suits your story.

As a writer, I have picked the style of comics. However, the stories I write are very different from each other. My comic strip works best as a webcomic. It is humorous, short, and unending. Every update is satisfying by itself, so any one will make a good first comic to a reader of my strip. There also is no real story to it, just a premise. Although there are occasional story arcs, they are still finite stories in an infinite realm.

Another project I have is about citizens of a city being attacked and how they respond to those attacks. It has a beginning and an end, both set in stone. Although it will be several chapters long, it is a finite story in a finite realm. It would not work well as webcomic, where not every page would make a good first impression, nor could it last indefinitely, which would make the website almost useless once the story finishes.

A third project is a story about a creepy cult and the small group of normal people trying to resist it. Although there is a main story, the setting is potentially infinite, allowing for countless stories to be made (and rendering the graphic novel a useless option). However, since it would be best for each story to be told at once, the page-a-day format of webcomics would not work. Therefore, the proper format would be a comic book (A.K.A. trade paperback).

Much as a writer must pick the style that allows them to best communicate, so must they also pick a format that allows their story to best be told.

Being Different

I think it's ironic that people are harassed for being different. They're told they are wrong. They need to be corrected and there are plenty of people who are more than happy to offer those corrections.

The irony is that it is the person who is different that has a chance of being recognized. Once you get recognized, that will start the cycle of self-reinforcing fame, which will make you special and great and loved. Then everybody who criticized you will be singing your praises for being different in a good way.

The large majority of people who give you advice (especially unsolicited advice) aren't trying to make you better; they're trying to make you average. They want you to look and sound like everybody else does. That's safe and comfortable and already proven to be good. And to add more irony, that is the last thing you want.

I've said it before and I will say it again. The worst thing you can possibly be is average. If you can't be the absolute best, be the absolute worst. The important thing is that you're being different (and that you're being you).