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Hi faithful readers, I hope this past week has treated you well and Halloween, if you celebrate, was appropriately spooky. This week’s question doesn’t require a lot of setup, I think:
What's the best writing advice you've ever received?
I obviously share loads of resources here at 5AM StoryTalk to help you develop your own tools as an artist. But I want to hand the mic to you now. Tell me about the best advice you’ve ever received about writing and/or creating art. Tell me who gave it to you and why it’s made such a difference in your creative life.
Thanks for reading 5AM StoryTalk! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Literally just do it. The more you write, the more you hone =) And to carry something to scribble thoughts down on as it's when you walk away and start looking at something else that inspiration strikes.
Okay, so this was not advice directly to me, but I make it a point to gobble up as much Tony Gilroy podcasts, lectures, etc, as possible because his advice is priceless. Two gems: if you're having trouble with a scene, it's often because you can not vividly imagine the location. Figure that out and it'll kickstart you. Also this one, with some of my creative paraphrasing: You must consider how the screenplay looks on the page. How it looks is how it reads. How it reads (staccato? prose poem? phrases with dashes as opposed to full sentences?) creates tone and pace on the page. This is as integral to your screenplay as line breaks are to poetry.
Tony Gilroy is going to be remembered like Paddy Chayefsky, methinks. As for the script advice, it's one I don't think gets discussed enough and, even when it is, it's often by the wrong people - like agents. For years, I was badgered into stripped scripts down until there was almost nothing on the page worth reading except dialogue that no longer popped without the action that should've been happening around it. Every script has its own personality, and how it looks on the page is part of that personality.
I don't have favorite writing advice. But I have a concept I like to introduce people to, I call "Dysreka!"
See, "Eureka!" is what you exclaim when you have a spark of inspiration and the elements come together and you've made a breakthrough. But sometimes I, and I suspect many many other writers, sometimes have what feels like a really. bad. idea. that charms them. Like a, "No way in hell would the audience go for this" or "I mean it's super entertaining but nobody would buy it" or whatever.
If you take that "This is such a bad idea nobody should do this" and turn it into "Which is why I not only have to do it, I have to earn it and have the audience go 'Wow he actually did that....'", that's Dysreka! I swear in your worst ideas are actually some seeds of something inspiring you that will lead you just about as true as your best ideas. It's the middling ideas you really should avoid.
When I was starting, pre: WGA: take any connection and/or opportunity that came along and jump at it. My first script paid a whopping $500. The second rocketed up at $3000, and that one, in a bastardized version, got made. That credit helped me land my first studio writing job. LATER: if something doesn't work it, take a day to cry about it, then NEXT.
This is both great advice and, later in my screenwriting career, terrible advice. It taught me to be unprecious about my work, which meant my work increasingly became transactional. For me, that was the end of my time in Hollywood in many ways.
For all I know, this might well be a well worn and universally recognised cliché, but it remains splendid advice: "Don't get it right, get it written". In other words, don't keep going back on your work trying to polish, correct, or completely rewrite it as you go: plough through to the end, however rough some of it might be, then work on the piece as a whole.
Not sure where I heard it, but making the commitment to write every day has had a huge impact on my ideation process. It can be as much or as little as I want, time permitting, and creates a habit of intention. Eventually it just becomes a numbers game and the likelihood of having a good idea or writing something meaningful comes naturally
Writing is a muscle. If you don't walk every day, it gets harder to walk. If you walk every day, you eventually find you're ready to run. (Or whatever is the right metaphor for you; I don't want to be ableist.)
So so much advice... but the one I keep coming back to is an age-old one: those three little words that mean so much - 'Trust the pocess'. It helps keep me going, it helps me when I'm challenged... and I've realised that it's actually given me more faith in myself and my writing abilities, because that's what, I think, 'trust the process' ultimately comes down to: *trust yourself*. That if you keep going, you will find that you have it in you to solve these writing challenges, overcome these problems, etc. (Which is one reason why I get so mad about AI being pushed onto writers - because if we start to 'hack' the process we are, in fact, stopping us growing our faith and trust in ourselves!)
"How is what they're thinking different to what they're saying?" Nailing my character's interiority voice – and how it contrasted with their spoken dialogue – changed everything for me.
I appreciate how you transform a straightforward prompt into a catalyst for deep reflection. The openness of “Tell me who gave it to you and why it’s made such a difference” adds a layer of intimacy that draws readers in. Your knack for connecting with fellow artists is evident and genuinely uplifting.
A line one of my journalism professors gave me that has always stuck: “Always listen to others but don’t forget your own voice, either.”
As a writer, any creative, we’re always learning and growing but sometimes, you just gotta put it all onto the page, right? From the first draft to the final draft, it all counts.
I read something a couple of years ago that said to write while your heart is still going 80 mph, with tear-stained face and voice hoarse from the unspoken screams in your head. Write what you feel, as you feel it, honestly and nakedly because readers can smell careful BS a mile away, and recognize and relate to honest opinion and emotion. I agree - I’m one of those readers.
Edith Bow, whom you will know of, gave me some guidance on writing using a stream of consciousness approach which encouraged me to try something totally different and as a result I wrote two pieces very quickly, with virtually no editing... just letting words follow words whilst the prompts, the basic idea the prompt inspired and visual cues and other sensory cues were like angels and devils on my shoulder guiding the direction. And the results were really personally satisfying. I didn't know I was capable of creating in this way. id urge everyone to try it. I admire Edith's writing a great deal and whilst i tried to follow her guidance, my writing was still very much my own and not a pastiche of her style... which is really something quite special and very much hers
Stream of consciousness is an ability that isn't fostered enough in most writers, from my experience. There's so much attention placed on THE END versus the unconscious inspiration. You can get in your own way. You want to find out what's inside you, trying to get out, and you can't do that trying to stick a landing.
I have to say for others' sake that I disagree with this. Writing is a learned ability. You can be inclined, but you're not gifted with some supernatural skill others don't possess. It requires reading, most often training, and a lot of practice. Anyone can become a better writer and a lot of okay writers become bestsellers.
Orwell tried to pen a warning and ended up writing a blueprint. He's got more bodies on him than Marx by now. If you are capable of that kind of observation, I've concluded it is your responsibility to keep it to yourself. I do my best.
Look at buddhism. The fundamental tenet of buddhism is that you can't be taught wisdom. "If you meet me on your path, kill me." And yet, a bunch of parasites rode even /that/ message to power. The actual fucking buddah himself said no priests or pastors, and yet there are buddhist monasteries all over the place.
I'm pretty sure that, for every Diogenes or Omar Khyaam or Machiavelli, there are dozens of people like me lost to the sands of time who figured it out but took the next step and stifled themselves rather than make shit worse.
Honestly, I can't imagine a single good thing about deciding not to express something true to yourself through words, even if it was for your own satisfaction. If you have the urge and didn't, it's like denying reality to me. But hey, if that's working for you, I'm glad you've found your peace.
Writing is like every other skill. It requires practice. The more you write (and read), the better you get. What I think might be most remarkable is how quickly a person can grow in skill level just by fanatical practice and learning to better interrogate their own work. I've seen people go from amateur hacks to professionals in a year. It's not easy, but the imagination just needs help/commitment.
"The first draft is for the writer."
Oh, and if I can sneak in a perfect quotation: "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working." (Pablo Picasso)
I've used that Picasso quote often!
“Forget what you know. Write what you want to know.”
This is good stuff.
Literally just do it. The more you write, the more you hone =) And to carry something to scribble thoughts down on as it's when you walk away and start looking at something else that inspiration strikes.
“Don’t get it right. Get it written.” William F. Nolan (I think)
Horrible first drafts should be embraced. I wish more people accepted that.
Okay, so this was not advice directly to me, but I make it a point to gobble up as much Tony Gilroy podcasts, lectures, etc, as possible because his advice is priceless. Two gems: if you're having trouble with a scene, it's often because you can not vividly imagine the location. Figure that out and it'll kickstart you. Also this one, with some of my creative paraphrasing: You must consider how the screenplay looks on the page. How it looks is how it reads. How it reads (staccato? prose poem? phrases with dashes as opposed to full sentences?) creates tone and pace on the page. This is as integral to your screenplay as line breaks are to poetry.
Tony Gilroy is going to be remembered like Paddy Chayefsky, methinks. As for the script advice, it's one I don't think gets discussed enough and, even when it is, it's often by the wrong people - like agents. For years, I was badgered into stripped scripts down until there was almost nothing on the page worth reading except dialogue that no longer popped without the action that should've been happening around it. Every script has its own personality, and how it looks on the page is part of that personality.
Writing is listening.
Ooh that is true!
Do not indulge your self-destructive inner voices of doubt.
I don't have favorite writing advice. But I have a concept I like to introduce people to, I call "Dysreka!"
See, "Eureka!" is what you exclaim when you have a spark of inspiration and the elements come together and you've made a breakthrough. But sometimes I, and I suspect many many other writers, sometimes have what feels like a really. bad. idea. that charms them. Like a, "No way in hell would the audience go for this" or "I mean it's super entertaining but nobody would buy it" or whatever.
If you take that "This is such a bad idea nobody should do this" and turn it into "Which is why I not only have to do it, I have to earn it and have the audience go 'Wow he actually did that....'", that's Dysreka! I swear in your worst ideas are actually some seeds of something inspiring you that will lead you just about as true as your best ideas. It's the middling ideas you really should avoid.
"It's the middling ideas you really should avoid."
Every. Time. Yes.
When I was starting, pre: WGA: take any connection and/or opportunity that came along and jump at it. My first script paid a whopping $500. The second rocketed up at $3000, and that one, in a bastardized version, got made. That credit helped me land my first studio writing job. LATER: if something doesn't work it, take a day to cry about it, then NEXT.
This is both great advice and, later in my screenwriting career, terrible advice. It taught me to be unprecious about my work, which meant my work increasingly became transactional. For me, that was the end of my time in Hollywood in many ways.
For all I know, this might well be a well worn and universally recognised cliché, but it remains splendid advice: "Don't get it right, get it written". In other words, don't keep going back on your work trying to polish, correct, or completely rewrite it as you go: plough through to the end, however rough some of it might be, then work on the piece as a whole.
Not sure where I heard it, but making the commitment to write every day has had a huge impact on my ideation process. It can be as much or as little as I want, time permitting, and creates a habit of intention. Eventually it just becomes a numbers game and the likelihood of having a good idea or writing something meaningful comes naturally
Writing is a muscle. If you don't walk every day, it gets harder to walk. If you walk every day, you eventually find you're ready to run. (Or whatever is the right metaphor for you; I don't want to be ableist.)
So so much advice... but the one I keep coming back to is an age-old one: those three little words that mean so much - 'Trust the pocess'. It helps keep me going, it helps me when I'm challenged... and I've realised that it's actually given me more faith in myself and my writing abilities, because that's what, I think, 'trust the process' ultimately comes down to: *trust yourself*. That if you keep going, you will find that you have it in you to solve these writing challenges, overcome these problems, etc. (Which is one reason why I get so mad about AI being pushed onto writers - because if we start to 'hack' the process we are, in fact, stopping us growing our faith and trust in ourselves!)
“Delete the first sentence. Oh, and also delete the last. That’s better.” My son.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Maupassant - Get black on white
Every event is infinitely describable. You create the readers reality with the choices you make in that description
Yeah, that's good stuff.
"How is what they're thinking different to what they're saying?" Nailing my character's interiority voice – and how it contrasted with their spoken dialogue – changed everything for me.
I appreciate how you transform a straightforward prompt into a catalyst for deep reflection. The openness of “Tell me who gave it to you and why it’s made such a difference” adds a layer of intimacy that draws readers in. Your knack for connecting with fellow artists is evident and genuinely uplifting.
Thanks, Jon. I live for art.
A line one of my journalism professors gave me that has always stuck: “Always listen to others but don’t forget your own voice, either.”
As a writer, any creative, we’re always learning and growing but sometimes, you just gotta put it all onto the page, right? From the first draft to the final draft, it all counts.
Absolutely.
I don't mean to seem smug, but this is seriously the best advice I've heard about writing: Write!
I read something a couple of years ago that said to write while your heart is still going 80 mph, with tear-stained face and voice hoarse from the unspoken screams in your head. Write what you feel, as you feel it, honestly and nakedly because readers can smell careful BS a mile away, and recognize and relate to honest opinion and emotion. I agree - I’m one of those readers.
Edith Bow, whom you will know of, gave me some guidance on writing using a stream of consciousness approach which encouraged me to try something totally different and as a result I wrote two pieces very quickly, with virtually no editing... just letting words follow words whilst the prompts, the basic idea the prompt inspired and visual cues and other sensory cues were like angels and devils on my shoulder guiding the direction. And the results were really personally satisfying. I didn't know I was capable of creating in this way. id urge everyone to try it. I admire Edith's writing a great deal and whilst i tried to follow her guidance, my writing was still very much my own and not a pastiche of her style... which is really something quite special and very much hers
Stream of consciousness is an ability that isn't fostered enough in most writers, from my experience. There's so much attention placed on THE END versus the unconscious inspiration. You can get in your own way. You want to find out what's inside you, trying to get out, and you can't do that trying to stick a landing.
the end found its own way in both of them. Ive got another one to do but i cant quite fix on a premise before i "let the dogs out" so to speak
If you can not write, don't.
I have to say for others' sake that I disagree with this. Writing is a learned ability. You can be inclined, but you're not gifted with some supernatural skill others don't possess. It requires reading, most often training, and a lot of practice. Anyone can become a better writer and a lot of okay writers become bestsellers.
Orwell tried to pen a warning and ended up writing a blueprint. He's got more bodies on him than Marx by now. If you are capable of that kind of observation, I've concluded it is your responsibility to keep it to yourself. I do my best.
Look at buddhism. The fundamental tenet of buddhism is that you can't be taught wisdom. "If you meet me on your path, kill me." And yet, a bunch of parasites rode even /that/ message to power. The actual fucking buddah himself said no priests or pastors, and yet there are buddhist monasteries all over the place.
I'm pretty sure that, for every Diogenes or Omar Khyaam or Machiavelli, there are dozens of people like me lost to the sands of time who figured it out but took the next step and stifled themselves rather than make shit worse.
Honestly, I can't imagine a single good thing about deciding not to express something true to yourself through words, even if it was for your own satisfaction. If you have the urge and didn't, it's like denying reality to me. But hey, if that's working for you, I'm glad you've found your peace.
Naaah, it's boiling over all day every day. Look what I'm doing here :)
You might like this true story from my life. It was about 6 months before the Arab Spring.
https://poloniousmonk.substack.com/p/my-adventure-in-cairo?r=1xr9v7
i didnt really know if i could write until i did and put it here and people told me I could write. now im getting better.
Writing is like every other skill. It requires practice. The more you write (and read), the better you get. What I think might be most remarkable is how quickly a person can grow in skill level just by fanatical practice and learning to better interrogate their own work. I've seen people go from amateur hacks to professionals in a year. It's not easy, but the imagination just needs help/commitment.