About Writing and Still Having Friends

Post 403:

            I think three things are important when evaluating your own skill set in the writing game. Three questions. Do people like your voice? Do the stories make sense? And… are the characters memorable?

            This is really boiled down, but start here and then get more complicated. Your voice is just the way you write. Don’t use too many big words or try to be a “writer” even though a billion morons out there will tell you how to be a “writer.” None them are good “writers,” by the way.

            When it comes to stories that make sense, this simply means that you craft a tale that’s understandable on some level. Maybe the plot is a little weak, but the emotional subtext is strong enough to carry the day. Perhaps it’s a little dry on characterization but the plot is killer and it’s a go. Just be fair. Don’t ask someone to read something that makes no sense on either level. That’s just crap and nobody will go to your birthday party.

            Memorable characters. Here we go. Today I’ve done two things. I read a good chunk of an airport paperback, and I read a piece about Shakespeare—how every character is completely real and he has the ability to morph into any personality or profession, type, etc. This is only partially true. The guy was a genius, but this statement, espoused by “writers” and experts is logically fallacious, if you’ll allow me to take on the guise of a guy that says fallacious. See, if Shakespeare’s characters were doing their thing to serve the story, they wouldn’t have been walking around saying things that are quoted every day by all people everywhere. No one on the average does their daily activities proclaiming profundities and crafting witticisms on a scathing and brilliant scale. Let’s get real—still, I get that his characters were well done. It’s just, take it easy fellas.

            But then you’ve got paperback writer. These characters almost lack as many dimensions as average people. You understand them in three pages. Their whole bit. Maybe they change a little, but eh… they are who they are. This is okay. Just like Shakespeare, at least the characters are characters. Subtle or on the nose, at least give it a shot.

            In the interest of fairness, follow these three tenets before you learn to break them. And, in the interest of fairness, I’m done for today. See you after. Cheers.