If your story isn’t delivering, major progress can be made by answering this question,
What is the message you want to share through your story?
If you don’t know what it is, ask yourself, why are you writing this?
If the answer is that your dream is to be a writer, read number 1.
If the answer is that you have to write it, because you’ve been hired to and have a deadline, read number 2.
If the answer is that you like the world building aspect of your story or are very passionate about a topic (witches, dinosaurs, wizards, etc.) but haven’t thought of a message, read number 3.
If you do know the message but somehow the actual story isn’t delivering, read number 4.
If you do know the message but never start, or finish, read number 5.
If you have a message but it came from you seeing this message elsewhere (a movie, book, story that’s out there and you love), and you wanting to convey it through a different metaphor, read number 6.
1.
If the answer is that it’s your dream to be a writer, or you have on your bucket list to win an Oscar or be a New York Times bestseller, the problem might be that you’re writing for your ego and not for the sake of sharing something that you think is valuable to share with others. If this is the case, please don’t feel bad. I’ve been here, and there’s a way to work this out through awareness. Think of this: imagine that you want a house and that you’re looking to hire an architect to build it for you. What attributes would you be looking for? I think you would want someone who is putting your needs first, such as your safety, being diligent, making sure the house is sturdy, being able to deliver in a timely manner, etc. What if there were an architect who’s doing this job because his dream is to be an architect? Would you care? I don’t think so. Whether this is his dream or not, the point is the service he does for you. If this is his dream to take a photo of the finished house to put in his portfolio but hasn’t carefully worked for months on the foundations, that would probably be a problem. The same would happen if you were to hire a doctor or someone to paint your portrait. Writers don’t think they’re being hired by the audience, but if they are stuck in this issue, it could help to think of it this way. The audience is giving them the money for their writing, whether the ticket for a movie or a book, and their time. What they care for is to be entertained, educated or inspired. If when thinking about the book/movie you’re writing, what you care for the most is that photo you’ll take with your printed copy, that sign event or what you’ll say when you win the Oscars, you’re the architect who’s more preoccupied with putting a photo of the house in their portfolio than making sure the house is safe for those who’ll live in it.
I once read this somewhere: “How to know which story you should work on? The one that if someone else made, you would be jealous of them”. I think this is the case of a person who’s writing for themselves and not to share a message. If you had an important message to share, and I believe that when we’re willing to be vulnerable we all do, you wouldn’t think this at all. You would think that the world would be a better place if people embraced this message and you would be happy to see this message shared, whether it was you who wrote it or someone else. You think Ghandi and Martin Luther King cared if the one carrying their message were them or someone else? It wasn’t about them, it was about their message. You think Tara Westover from New York Time best-seller “Educated” wanted to share the abuse she received from her own family with the world? This isn’t something easy to share with others, in fact it’s something most people may feel ashamed of, but she wanted the message to be out there. The best writing comes from here. It isn’t about the writer, it’s about what’s being written. In that sense, the advice “Write what you’d like to read, not what you’d like to write”, can be a hint. However, I think it’s important that what you write about comes from a personal emotional experience of yours.
2.
If the answer is that you have to write it, because you’ve been hired to and have a deadline, the problem is that you’re missing inspiration.
I believe this is the current problem of the movie industry. Ways around this are to put your own message that you care for inside whatever topic/guidelines you’ve been assigned. Let’s say you’ve been assigned to write a sequel, so the character’s personality and world is already established, you still have a lot of room to insert a message you care for. In this instance, it may be wise to pick a simpler broader message that can be more easily applied to any scenario. Another solution, if a message you personally don’t feel linked to has already been established by whomever has hired you, speak with people who have had that experience and make sure to honor their voices through your writing. I am usually very easily and clearly able to tell when a writer is writing about something they have not experienced. Let’s use the example of a book that talks about a teenager having a terminal disease, such as cancer. What would that feel like, to be told at 16 that you have cancer? I personally have no idea, because I have not been through that experience. I can imagine it, but how could one even imagine something like that? How could imagination ever match the reality of something like that happen? When I read, I can very easily and very clearly tell if the person who wrote this has gone through this experience or not. There’s something that feels real about people speaking about something they actually went through, and something that just feels like fiction about people that make up an experience. I have lost a parent suddenly, unexpectedly and earlier than expected. Let me tell you that the real experience of that was completely different form what I could have ever imagined. Every time this scenario comes up in story, I can tell if the person writing actually experienced this or not. So what can one do if they need to write something that they have not experienced? Simple, research and ask someone who has. This is the only reason why “The Fault In Our Stars”, a book about teenagers having cancer written by a grown man who never had cancer, works. He asked teenagers who went through this how they felt.
3.
If the answer is that you like the world building aspect of your story or you’re very passionate about a topic (witches, dinosaurs, wizards, etc.) but haven’t thought of a message, then ask yourself if you would be willing to look at something like someone else’s coin collection or leaf collection or walk through one gallery for 14 hours (the time someone would invest in reading a 500 page novel). Descriptions, interesting worlds and great atmosphere add an incredible value to the story (just think of Harry Potter or The Pirates of The Carabbean) but “looking” at something, even if beautiful, for 14 hours is tiring.
If this is your case, I see four solutions. Number one, maybe what you like is art and not storytelling. Maybe the right place for you is to on the creative side of set building for movie. This adds incredible value to a story, and it is a very important job. There would be nothing wrong in realizing the right place for you is this, and not the writing part of it. Think of how valuable this aspect is in books/movies like Harry Potter or The Pirates of the Carabbean. Number two, if you think that there’s a story deep down ready to be told but you’re getting “distracted” by the world building because it’s fun and “easier”, I think you need to be braver. Writing requires vulnerability and it requires sharing with the world emotional experience we’ve actually had, some of which may not be great or even painful to bring up to the surface. Yet, that is what writing is about. Someone out there may find inspiration or comfort in reading your honest report of something you felt, don’t let the fear stop you. People wonder why Taylor Swift is so popular. It’s because she’s willing to speak authentically about how she felt, even when it’s not great, it doesn’t make her shine in the best way or it’s vulnerable. Number three, you could team up with someone who cares to write the actual story while you take care of the descriptions and world building aspect of things. Number four, you can make a specific type of book that doesn’t require a message. An example of this if you like witches is to create a “Manual of witches”, maybe paired with illustrations, in which you describe all the type of witches, and what the house they live in looks like, etc. without actually needing a story.
4.
If you do know the message but somehow the actual story isn’t delivering, hire a story editor to help you. This is not a bad place to be at. If the message is there, this will work out. In number 1, we talked about the architect. This is a scenario in which the architect has a great vision for the final project but is struggling in the actual day-to-day steps to get this great project come to life. The solution is either learn the foundations or ask someone to help him with that. You can learn story structure and story analysis on your own, there’s plenty of material out there. Or if you don’t want to or are struggling with it still, you can just hire a story editor. This is literally what we’re here for. If you do have a solid message and foundation for what you’re writing and why, this will work out just by working with a story editor.
5.
If you do know the message but never start, or finish, your story, be brave - the world needs to hear your message. Sometimes we just have to wait for the right time, but there’s nothing here anyone can do to help you. Ultimately, it is your choice whether you are going to share this or not.
6.
If you have a message but it came from you seeing this message elsewhere (a movie, book, story that’s out there and you love), and you wanting to convey it through a different metaphor, ask yourself 1-How can I make this different and unique and add value to it with an experience I specifically have had that is not in the original story? 2- If you liked this so much, chances are, a lot of people did. If you don’t add something unique to it, the majority of people might be able to recognize where you got this from (a lot of people recognized Avatar for being an identical storyline to Pocahontas). 3- If we love something a lot, would it be okay to accept to be the audience of it and not necessarily part of it? There’s peace and maturity in admiring a message without needing to be the part of the crew that said it, but be part of its audience. I would give a personal example as I personally struggled with this in art. I work as an artist in animation and I remember feeling desperate to work on The SpiderVerse after I saw the first movie because I was mind blown by how amazing the art was. It took more awareness and maturity to come to this conclusion: I don’t like superheroes, I don’t have a graphic style of painting, and nothing in The SpiderVerse actually matches who I truly am. I am much more of a match to Disney, which is in fact where I’ve worked the most. My idea of wanting to work on The SpiderVerse was just because I admired it, not because it made sense for me to actually be working on it. I had to realize that I’m a fan of it, more than the artist that would naturally be in a project like that.
I used to struggle with 1, and often ended in 6 because I wanted to be an appreciated writer, so every time I appreciated a clever or touching storyline, I found myself just wishing I could be part of the team that made that happen. Just like that changed for me through awareness, it can for you too.
Good Writing is an Outward Motion
By working with writers I have come to the understanding that good writing is an outward motion. Let me explain.
In instance one the writer is sure of something. How? They have lived, experienced and integrated this. It’s part of who they are. Let’s see different examples. Example 1: after being born and raised in a house with a bipolar/schizophrenic/survivalist father, having been taught those believes her all life and not having had a chance to go to school or ever hear a different opinion, Tara Westover eventually ends up being able to study, become an educated person and writes her non-fiction best-selling book “Educated”. The book is a memoir and it shares the message of the value of education, through her experience. She is sure of this message because it’s her literal and actual life. If someone said “I think this book is boring and not entertaining”, this wouldn’t be a problem. Because that’s a fair thought, but she knows this book may still help someone who maybe similarly to her doesn’t see the value of education or someone that has given it for granted their whole life, like myself. She wants the message out there, the world needs it, she’s just a vessel for it. There is purpose behind this action of sharing.
Example 2: we have a writer who when growing up was in a challenging environment that caused her anxiety. Her refuge was picture books, in particular one that talked about witches. She adores witches, their long nose and green skin, the fact that they fly on a broom and when they take a bath in a green bubbly bath with spiders. Witches are great, this writer is sure of it. As she becomes an adult, and learns to write and draw, she makes a book about witches. She shows us what their supermarket looks like, that they eat frogs and eyes, what the newest trendy broom at the witch shop looks like. She has that passion for witches inside her, she’s just showing the world through her book and drawings. If someone didn’t like the book, she’d just think that they’re missing out and hope someday they can all see how great witches are. She’s also happy to know she may be helping another little girl out there, that just like her, may be in challenging circumstances and be able to find comfort in her book. Her book is an outward motion, she’s sharing what she has inside and there’s a purpose for this.
If we look at instance two, the motion is inward. A person decides they’d like to write something because they want to be a writer or want a grant or need it in their portfolio, or they are hired to do it, and now they have to think about what to write. So they think, what should I write about? Maybe they should write a book as inspirational as the “Educated” book we talked about earlier. They mechanically choose a topic and once they put it out, if someone says
“This book is boring, I think that books should entertain people, not educated them and make them sad”, the writer will go back, and write about something else entirely. They really admired their friend who became popular making a book about witches, so maybe they can make a book about dinosaurs. But once they put it out, someone doesn’t like it. They feel bad again, maybe they should write about something else.
If the first and second writer had come to me for story editing, and I had told them that I didn’t think their work had potential, they would have just gone somewhere else. They don’t want to be writers, they want to share that specific thing that is important to them or that they have a passion for. “Choose another topic”, for them, won’t do. The funny thing is, when the book/script comes from here, it’s always good and no story editor will say no to this project. Because people know I do story editing, and I work in the animation industry, many coworkers and friends ask me to take a look at their stories and often times they send me 2-3 ideas they have and ask me if I think any of them have potential. I sometimes have to tell them I think more work is needed, but do you know what the funny thing is? If we’re having a coffee while we do this, the conversation may end up becoming a private one, in which we just talk as friends. During this conversation they tell me so many things that would make for a great story. They find themselves between their older parents, one of which is struggling with dementia and how this effects them, and the parents who doesn’t have it. There’s so much interesting information here, I’m more interested in this real, raw story they’re telling me than any of the stories they asked me to read. I think this would make for a great essay for the The New York Times column “Modern Love”. A friend who wants to be a writer but whose day job is at a mortuary had me on the floor laughing at some things that she experienced at her work. Did you know that when people die their hair becomes hard and someone has to comb it into place? I think the story she asked me to read wasn’t quite there yet, but if she did write about her job, that would be hilarious. I found the romantic short novel a friend asked me to read too similar to many I’ve read to really spark my genuine interest, and then I had the popcorn out and she had my full attention for an hour while she talked to me about the semi-tragic series of dates she went on. I thought that would be great material for a romantic novel.
Everyone has a story, because stories come from emotional experience and if you’re alive, you’re having plenty of those. Good writing comes from your decision to share something you’ve emotionally experienced, that is unique to you, that has value to you and gives you purpose (whether it’s because you saw the importance of it in your life, like Tara Westover, or because you hold it dear in your heart, like the witch book writer). If you take away they idea of being a writer, any external influences of what a good topic or style of writing is, what others will think of your story, what it is it that actually moves you, taught you a lesson, helped you grow, made you laugh or gives you comfort in challenging times? My number one tip is, write about that.
