ScriptSuperhero.com

Some aspiring writers look at the lives of total wrecks like Ernest Hemingway and his ilk and think that the only way to be a good writer is to put yourself through hell, then go to drug treatment and then start writing.

I suppose if all you want to write about is addiction, drinking and getting sober, perhaps that’s a decent method to follow; but at what cost? Not all writers have to be tortured to produce good art. As the recent box office success of Horton Hears a Who proves, even a balanced guy like Dr. Seuss can produce work that inspires millions, without all the false drama.

Here’s a clue: all writers are different, and it is who they are as individuals that gives them their unique voice. Stop trying to be someone else, like Hemingway, and start writing like yourself and the life you know.

Hey, it’ll even help you live longer.

Some writers just don’t recognize or appreciate the opportunities to write that life lays before them. While they dream of writing the great American novel, they’re unwilling to put pen to paper for some ad copy at their local public television station or help a friend running for a local office craft a speech on sanitation policies.

While these are not glamorous writing positions, they are opportunities to get your work out there and gain experience. For example, a lot of my script writing experience has come from writing “opening sketches” for a college Christian group I was a part of in college, as well as for a Lutheran church singles group I never attended myself.

Has that work landed me a job filling Tina Fey’s shoes as Saturday Night Live’s head writer? Nope. But it’s made me a better script writer. So that’s my message of the moment; stop being part of the wine club and start appreciating the opportunities to write that life tosses into your path; they’re there for a reason, and it’s not to brush up on your pinochle game.

Sometimes I think a nice long vacation to a completely different area, say Branson resorts or a biblical tour of Israel, would be a great way to charge up the ol’ creative batteries. But then, time away is often time away from writing as well. And writing is what writers do, if they’re to be called writers at all.

Writing research-based papers and ministry messages isn’t always thought of as an art form, but many of my efforts have been spend in exactly those areas of late. I have a series of lessons I’ll be writing for the next year and a half that is aimed at the ministry needs of messianic pre-teens. It doesn’t pay in a way that helps meet rent, but is invaluable writing experience.

And my recent in-print publication credit only netted me a free copy of the print magazine, but it is credits like this which could lead to book deals down the road. Like I always say… keep writing and eventually it’ll take you where you want to be.