THINGS THAT HELP

a list for writers

by John
Vorhaus

Ideas.  Details.  Tools.  Showers.  Confidence.  Time.  Structure.  Ethics.  Story.  Speed.   Grace.  Generosity.  Humility.  Spirit.  Cooperation.  Organization.  Goals.  Allies.  Memory.  Endurance.   Kindness.  Grit.  Practice.  Experience.  Self-awareness.  Revelation. Talent.  Drive.  Knowledge.  Wit.  Flexibility.  Personality.  Patience.  Impatience.  Money.  Boldness.  Imagination.  Editors.  Recreation.  Tranquility.  Concentration.  Distractions.  Relentlessness.  Teachers.  Students.  Anarchy.  Lists.  Love.  Computers.  Input.  Knacks.  Beliefs. 

IDEAS.  Don't worry about running out or forgetting the good ones or having them stolen.  There's plenty more where they came from, plus the more ideas you have, the more adept you get at having more ideas. 

DETAILS.  There's such a thing as an appropriate level of detail.  If you're having trouble solving a story or script problem, you may be attacking it too generally.  Break large problems down into smaller problems.  This makes them easier to solve.

TOOLS.  Mankind evolves in direct proportion to our willingness to use new tools.  Were it otherwise, we'd still be living in trees wondering where our next banana was coming from.  Use new tools -- be certain that your competition is.

SHOWERS.  (Not because you stink.)  It's a fact that falling water generates negative ions, which absorb our excess positive ions and make us feel "refreshed."  Creative problems get solved in the shower for sound biochemical reasons.   Story conferences can be fun there too.

CONFIDENCE.  Hey, I like to apologize for my work before I do it too, but how can any of us write great if we don't feel great about what we write?  be confident that your voice is worth being heard.   Fake this confidence if you have to; if you can't believe it, belie it. 

TIME.  Time is a non-renewable resource.  You can spend it, kill it, waste it, pass it and buy it, but when it goes it's gone.  The good news is there's still plenty left.  So work hard now.  Spend time writing.  Forget about time gone by. 

STRUCTURE.  Structure is god in writing.  Study structure.  Get good at it.  You'll have a skill that everybody wants.

ETHICS.  When in doubt, always act in a manner that is beyond reproach.

STORY.  Story instructs.  That's its job.  We plant instruction in the mulch of entertainment and hope for beautiful growth.  Sometimes the crop fails.  We do the best we can.  Try always to have something to say.  That's a writer's job.

SPEED.  Fast writers are highly prized.  Set impossibly short deadlines -- then meet them.  You can sleep when you're dead.

GRACE.  People say no to your face.  Mostly they don't care how you handle it, but sometimes they want to see you crash and burn.  Your grace denies them the satisfaction of that.

GENEROSITY.  Don't keep your secrets to yourself.  The more really great writers there are where you live, the greater the chances of a vibrant writing community that sustains everyone's livelihood.  Conversely, you can't get your share if there's none to go around.

HUMILITY.  Sometimes -- astoundingly -- they actually like your work.  Don't let it go to your head.  If you get hooked on validation, you're stuck with the jones when they take the validation away.  When all else fails, start on your next project.  That'll make you humble in no time.

SPIRIT.  Generate energy.  Demonstrate good will.  Accept setbacks and soldier on.  Spirit is the part of you that never quits.

COOPERATION.  Always be ready to surrender your stuff.  There's never any one right answer, and the more ably you accept others' right answers, the likelier they are to want to work with you again. 

ORGANIZATION.  Smart writers never say no to work.  Sometimes -- praise heaven -- we have too much work.  Become adept at time-stacking.  Good writers can go off in all directions at once and still manage to arrive everywhere on time.

GOALS.  Set smart ones.  I just want to be a better writer on the day I die than any day prior.  Since that merely takes practice – the active practice of writing – I figure I can't lose.

ALLIES.  If the people in your life don't support your goals, retrain them, restrain them or replace them.  Understand that your "let's go" threatens their "stay put," and that's why they fight you.  But they're not allies, and writers need allies.

MEMORY.  For heaven's sake, try to remember people's names.  I'm terrible at it. It's set my career back years.

ENDURANCE.  Writers are in it for the long haul.  It's not enough just to be good, you have to be good over time.  Improve your stamina by exercising it extensively. 

KINDNESS.  There's a dog on its back with its belly exposed.  Scratch, don't kick.  Treat your fellow writers well.

GRIT.  Can you do a 10th rewrite on a piece you felt you got right the first time?  That's grit.  Grit keeps you going, even when you know the dolts are dolts.

PRACTICE.  Write stuff that no one ever sees.  That's what practice is for.  You think Picasso showed his sketches?  Well okay Picasso...

EXPERIENCE.  Take any assignment you can get.  Bootstrap yourself up to the next level of understanding.  Experience comes win or lose.

SELF-AWARENESS.  It gives us strength when others reject us.  It gives us clues when the truth of our stories elude us.  It also makes life worth living, but that's probably just a bonus. 

REVELATION.  More prosaically known as "paradigm shift."  Writers need these to keep our writing fresh and new.   Change is growth.  You can't put it any simpler than that.

TALENT.  Oh look, everyone has this.  Some people limit their talent through denial and fear.  Others augment their talent through practice and craft.  As usual -- just when you wish it weren't -- the choice is up to you.

DRIVE.  Drive is the secret ingredient.  Just never give up and you will succeed.  If you think I'm wrong, bet against me... Then come see me when you're done.

KNOWLEDGE.  A writer's whole career is taking stuff she knows and sharing it with people who don't.  Knowledge is your product.  Never stop stocking up.

WIT.  No denying it, it helps to be funny.  If this is a strength, hone it.  If this a weakness, strengthen it.  I know a book that can help...

FLEXIBILITY.  Make room for new ideas.  Rigid writers hurt their own creative process, plus they're hell to work with.  Learn to listen, adapt, accept.  The next idea will be better than the last one anyway.

PERSONALITY.  It helps to have one, though many writers do manage to do without.

PATIENCE.  Some days you simply can't write.  Don't swim against the tide.  You'll just write crappy stuff and frustrate yourself even more.  Take the day off.  Start fresh tomorrow.

IMPATIENCE.  Okay, it's tomorrow.  What are you going to do now?

MONEY.  We know that it's useful to have.  Try to get yours from writing, even if it's only greeting cards.  (Please accept this card in lieu of my feelings.)  Seize every opportunity to close the gap between the writer you are and the writer you want to be.

BOLDNESS.  Take chances.  Don't be afraid to be wrong.  People fail upward all the time.

IMAGINATION.  Imagine having none.  See?  Can't be done.  Want more?  Just ask "What if..."  You can never run out of  "What if."

EDITORS.  Please have people read your stuff.  How will it ever get better if no one tells you what needs to be fixed?

RECREATION.  The brain is a battery.  It must be recharged.

TRANQUILITY.  The brain is a power tool.  It must be rested.

CONCENTRATION.  The brain is... oh hell, just think hard.   And here's another of those darn zen things about writing:  The harder you think, the easier it gets to think hard.

DISTRACTIONS.  Things that don't belong together are often funny.  So make sure you have plenty of distractions around to remind you what funny is.  Same goes double for toys and games.  No writer's room is complete without them.

RELENTLESSNESS.  There's no shortage of roadblocks in this business.  How you deal with them will measure your success.  I pretend they don't exist.  Eventually they go away.

TEACHERS.  Find someone who knows more than you.  Learn from them.   You'll end up knowing more than you did before.

STUDENTS.  Find someone who knows less than you.  Teach them.   Surprise, you'll end up knowing more than before this way too.

ANARCHY.  A little chaos is good for you.  Shuffle the deck.  Change the sorting system in your brain.  Let iconoclasm be your icon..

LISTS.  Lists are an incredibly powerful tool.  They subtract magic from creativity and leave behind mere information-gathering and problem-solving.  Lists engage our logic, not our ego, so messy self-doubt stays out of the way.

LOVE.  Okay, strictly speaking you don't need love for a successful writing career, but won't it be more fun?

COMPUTERS.  Pains in the ass, but they do make things easier.

KNACKS.  There are some things you're just effortlessly good at.  Choose your projects to showcase your strengths.  If you have a knack for jokes, write jokes.  If you have a knack for story, write stories.  If you have a knack for telling people about having knacks, do that...

BELIEFS.  Writers need beliefs, or else, really, what's the point?  "This I believe above all other things, a man shall find goodness if goodness he brings."