“Don’t Waste Your Talent” and Other Lies
Are there times when you're unwilling to say you're a writer?
Are there times when you're unwilling to say you're a writer?
Write. Paint. Create. Don't let the darkness of this world stop you. Every time you pick up the pen, you're pushing it back by inches.
When your muse to you, it's giving you the tools to become a great writer. Let me show you how.
This year, you need to write. The power you hold as a storyteller is without measure.
Pain changes your character. It's important you know how that character handles it.
Writer's freeze: when you know where you need to go, and maybe how to get there, but when you sit down to write it, your brain just stalls.
Weird question, isn't it? But if you don't know the answer, your characters might not be 3D.
Your location affects your other characters and plot every bit as much as your protagonist, antagonist, awesome sidekicks, eponymous heroes, or sarcastic love-interests.
This is a really simple, helpful way to understand "show, don't tell."
Writer's block can be summed up in two ways: Being afraid to write because we think it sucks, and not knowing what to write next.
Your characters didn't appear the moment you write the first page. Just like in your own life, they were influenced by someone else—for good or ill. Understanding why your characters respond the way they do is crucial to character development, and knowing who influenced them is a key part of that.
Bear with me. As I write this post, I'm more than a little mad. And I don't mean "crazy," either. I encountered a fellow the other day who spoke things so poisonous, so deadly to the creative mind, that I suspect he's already left a battalion of writer-corpses in his wake. And I'm not staying silent about it anymore.
Writing is a strange thing, filled with emotional roller-coasters and storms and deserts. Who would ever put themselves willingly through this? Well, you (and me). Why? Because you have something to say. The only person who can tell your story is you.
What would you write if you knew you couldn't fail? I promise I'm not setting you up for failure. There is a very good reason I'm asking this question.
Practice your tools to fight fear now, while the sun still shines, or you'll be fumbling to find them in the dark.
According to last week‘s responses, failure is the number one fear that writers face. Maybe we should start by defining it.
Why does this matter? Because if you're not writing your villains with the awareness that in their head, they're not the villain, you may be writing a flat, 2D character.
“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” – Stephen King
Thank you, Bryan Hutchinson! I'm so glad my post inspired you. :) Your book, Writer's Doubt: The #1 Enemy of Writing (and What You Can Do About It), inspired me,…
I've made a scary Indie-pub decision: I'm leaving Smashwords. Let me break down precisely why.