Writing Meditations: Tips that I've carried with me...

Since I’ve started this journey, I have been diving into the world of writing and fiction. There are a ton of quotes, advice, and feedback from celebrity authors, talking about how a person ought to approach writing. I honestly haven’t found any piece that wasn’t useful, instead of finding that some it just didn’t resonate with me. I thought I’d take a quick moment to share what has resonated with me and maybe others will find it useful.

Neil Gaiman

To me, Neil Gaiman isn’t only my favorite modern author but one of the kindest and empathetic authors out there. Where a lot of celebrity writers want to make sure to expose you to the harsh world that is writing and help you overcome such fears, Neil often deals with the emotional strain writing can bring. He talks about being nice to yourself, getting past the first draft, and not doubting yourself. He talks extensively about imposter syndrome, which is a major issue throughout many disciplines. I start with him because as a daydreamer, who has gone through and finished many stories in my mind, I had never finished the numerous amount of books I’d started.

“Finish things…”

I will say that I really like the way that he stated it here because he isn’t just saying that you will be super successful the moment you finish something. No, it’s more about you, and how much finishing something means to you. I think I especially, really underestimated what seems like an obvious truth, that if I don’t finish anything then I have never gotten what matters to me out there. There’s a dopamine release to finishing something, even something you don’t love, then seeing it in its entirety.

I’ll add that Stephen King talks a lot about discipline as well and mentions keeping a word count. Word counts have worked for me to an extent. Writing, at least right now where it’s not my main occupation, can’t bring me down. It does, of course, often, but it can’t. What I mean by that is, I am choosing to do this, and if I’m not enjoying it, then there’s a real problem there. I think what I am trying to say is find out what’s right for you, but the constant has to be that you finish the work. I imagine that in ten years if nothing comes of your writing, you will still derive great joy from that work you finished.

Stephen King

So interesting fact here, I am not a fan of Stephen King actually. I loved the Dark Tower, but apart from that, I didn’t really love anything that he wrote. I know that for a lot of people that will range from blasphemous to who cares, but I was surprised to find so much I related to in how King approaches writing.

I picked up his book from amazon, On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft, and gobbled it up. At the time, I was desperate for practical advice, like the type you’d get from a real mentor. Stephen is what I like to describe as a bruiser in the writing community. He comes off as a pretty tough guy, who went through a lot before catching his big break. Super huge break. At first, I was a little annoyed at how far back in his story he went. He even talks about how the book wasn’t an autobiography, and I felt like I was getting quite a bit more than he promised. In the end, he was correct to start where he did.

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut”

This one is probably another big duh for a lot of people, but to me, it’s more about priorities. I love video games, I love movies, I love TV shows, I love D&D, I love… a lot of things. There are only so many things that make me feel really alive though. Writing is the foremost and reading is the second. Yet, somehow, as I’ve entered into the real deal, adult life at 30, I’ve gotten lost in the humdrum of life. I’ve allowed myself to wish about being a writer or that book I want to read, rather than actually doing it.

I had a mentor, early in my career, who said something very similar when I told him how hard it would be to break into the industry. He told me, “It’s easy. If you want it, then there’s no other choice. You just do it.” It’s not that the road and journey aren’t littered with obstacles, and that it isn’t truly difficult. It’s more that, when it’s what you want to do, then you have no other choice but to do it. The same can be said for me and writing. I either do want to write or do not. There is no try. Darn. I thought I could avoid that Yoda quote. It drew me in, like all nerdy quotes.

Brandon Sanderson

I’m going to cheat with this one. Here, click this.

That whole class from Brandon Sanderson is full of pragmatic, interesting, and practical industry advice. However, I feel like if a person hasn’t written a book yet this is a good place to start. The industry stuff can wait until you know you actually love writing.

Also this short story lecture from that class was full of interesting information I didn’t know. I wasn’t originally into short stories, but this lecture taught me a lot about the craft.

Madeline Miller

I’ll end with this. Not a quote, but something that I’ve learned from reading Miller’s amazing books. In case you don’t know her, Madeline Miller has written two books, Song of Achilles and Circe. When I listened to Circe the first time, it had been after a long stint of not reading any fiction at all. I am a really easy crier for movies, but books have never really gotten me there. Circe… Wrecked… ME. It was a beautiful take on the life of the demigod, most notably recognized as the witch in the Odyssey.

Both books are amazing but I got to hear Miller read from Circe when she came to a library in Salt Lake City. I even got to meet her and make a blubbering fool of myself, as a grown dude. I won’t share details on that at this moment. She followed up the reading talking about her motivation for writing the story, and one that really impressed me was how empathetically she approached the main protagonist. By the end of the discussion, I was sold on Circe as a heroine, even without the book. I mean, I had read the book at that time, but if I hadn’t I would have bought fifteen Circe’s. I was utterly convinced.

Suddenly, the world of writing became very real. I imagine that for Miller, it’s pretty easy to sell her book. Getting out there in front of people she barely knows, baring her soul to complete strangers. She’s incredibly passionate about it. But she does have to get out there and sell. It’s kind of a terrifying prospect on its own. We all know that it’s an inevitability. If we want to get our book out there, more if we want to convince people to spend their precious time with it, and even more their money on it, then we are going to have to sell it. At the end of the day, it really is work, and the product is your story.

Now the level of selling that book is up to you. But, as many of us know, you will have to sell it. To friends, to family, and even to complete strangers. I know that isn’t the most intriguing thing to most people and honestly, it wasn’t for me either. Until, I saw an author, in the flesh, stand up and bare her soul, with passion, to a whole room full of strangers. The people in attendance with me there were incredibly caring and sensitive about the story that Miller had crafted. It gave me hope that if I even get one person to feel for my story, care about it the way that crowd had, then it would be enough!

If you like my stuff or have found this useful please drop a line, and let’s connect. I’m also on the big ol’ Twitter. Feel free to reach out any time!

- Riley