Creative writing - From think to ink - Lindstrom Simeon 2015

Writing myths

“I’m not talented enough to be a writer”

A little child doesn’t need a scrap of talent to learn to speak and write, he only has to keep trying until he learns. You’re kind of the same. Having a natural interest in writing and feeling drawn to keep going when it’s difficult may be the thing people talk about when they talk about “talent”, and for sure this is better to have than not …but by far the biggest determiner of your success as a writer is your intention and the quality of the effort you put in. Period.

“I’m just going to work on this piece until it’s finished and perfect…”

Nothing in life is ever finished and perfect, especially that paragraph you’ve been working on for eons. The irritating reality is that a lot of the time you have to settle for “good enough” or you’ll drive yourself crazy. I believe it’s a good sign if you look back on past work and cringe with embarrassment — it shows you’re growing. Don’t be one of those people who sits churning the same idea over and over in your head. Let it go, as it is, and let the fresh ideas come. Trust that you have more in you, and that you will improve if you keep going.

“Only crappy, lowest-common-denominator, poor quality stuff becomes popular, so why bother with working my masterpiece when I’ll never make money from it?”

This one’s complicated. Somewhere out there, a deeply intelligent, hard working and talented individual was working on an epic fan fiction novel that would have brought tears to the eyes of every mom that read it, just at exactly the moment that E L James started to make obscene amounts of money with Fifty Shades of Grey.

As grammar teachers and general humans with a scrap of common sense wept quietly, James laughed all the way to the bank. Why bother with finely crafted sentences and rock-solid plot and character when this buffoon could make millions with writing that would have made High School scribblings look like Dickens?

Firstly, a big part of this is merely an excuse. Seriously. The fact is that high quality, innovative content does make money, and does become popular. Do your best, and let it go. Secondly, it comes back to ego. Most writers out there feel a quiet rage and indignity at the fact that James won success when she’s clearly an inferior writer. Whether she is or isn’t is not my business to say (ok, she is!) but she was successful for a reason, and a savvy writer can put their ego aside and ask why.

James found a way to tap into something so immensely attractive that she created a storm in a readership that was unfamiliar with light BDSM erotica but, as it turns out, pretty keen to pay for it. While people heaped scorn on her for writing trashy “mommy porn” the fact is there is not much stopping you from doing the same.

James and people like her, in fact, show us that success is not some airy-fairy magic, but a real possibility when all the right elements are in place. It’s true that publishing and the way that people consume media is changing faster than we can think about it, but this means that there are more opportunities, not fewer.

Never write something you don’t believe in, or create something low quality because you think you don’t have to — or shouldn’t — try harder. Underestimating your audience is a fatal mistake. Put your heart, soul and sweat into writing something of value, and then release it.

“I’m a writer. I don’t know about the marketing side of things and I don’t want to. If I create a good book, people will come. Eventually. Probably.”

Having said what I just did, it’s important to note that in today’s world, even the most perfect bit of genius needs help with visibility. It needs to be promoted. It needs to be seen. I had some trouble with this myself initially, but my hesitance was mostly due to fear. If you hope to make a success of your book, you will need to promote your book. You will need to create and nurture a readership/fan base and you will need to keep them happy by giving them what they want.

If you don’t, you risk becoming one of the millions of “authors” languishing alone in corners of Amazon that nobody looks at, and nobody ever will. It sucks, I know, but it’s the truth. To stand out in a sea of billions of people making noise, you’ll have to make sure you have something interesting to say, but you’ll also have to do your best to catch attention.

We’ll consider this all in a later chapter, but it can be a rude awakening for many to discover that getting the damn book finished was actually the smallest of their worries. Finding an adequate platform to launch their work, winning and keeping admirers and marketing a brand that actually has any hope of making money — that’s where the real slog comes in.

“I’m not unique enough!”

This is another tricky one. There are two sides. One the one hand, many respectable authors do quite well creating products that are more or less rehashes of the same old themes — and it’s great! They know what works and their readers love it. There’s nothing wrong with this. But on the other hand, finding success initially can be difficult if you don’t bring anything new to the table. Established authors get to rest on their laurels a little, but it is true that if you want to snag some attention, you’re going to have to be something special.

As far as this goes, I have no advice for you. I truly believe that if you’ve effectively tapped into your Big Why, if you’ve thought through themes, characters and ideas that are compelling and have taken the time to work it, you will come out with something that is truly, 100%, absolutely your own and nobody else’s.

This book is about creativity. No matter how full the world is, trust that you can still think of new things. Believe that no matter how crowded the market feels, that you do have a perspective that is all your own. Don’t stress about how novel you appear, spend that energy instead on trying as hard as you can to tap into your own perspective and exploit that to its fullest.