Since I declared that 2008 was the Year Wil Writes Lots of Fiction, I’ve been . . . well, I haven’t exactly been writing a lot of fiction. I’ve been trying to write a lot of fiction, but — okay, let’s just stop there and acknowledge what a lot of you are thinking right now: "Do or do not. There is no try."
Yeah. About that. The X-wing? Totally not coming up out of the swamp for me.
More often than not, when I’m just making stuff up and writing it, I get self conscious and feel like I’m trying too hard. I’ve had a lot of success coming up with ideas and characters, but when I try to combine them into a narrative form, I get massive performance anxiety. A big problem for me is working on a story for several days, and then realizing, "Oh shit. I’m writing Quantum Leap." or "Motherfucker! This sure was interesting when it was called Enemy Mine."
There has been much cursing, kicking of small objects, gnashing of teeth, and not nearly enough actual, you know, writing.
Getting past my paralyzing fear that "this has already been done by some master writer and you’re never going to be as good as him or her" will obviously have to happen sooner than later if I’m going to get any of these projects done, and I came across something on Neil Gaiman’s blog this morning that, while not a magic wand to cure the problem, was definitely part of the eventual solution:
Genre
fiction, as Terry Pratchett has pointed out, is a stew. You take stuff
out of the pot, you put stuff back. The stew bubbles on.
If Terry Pratchett can say it, and Neil Gaiman can endorse it, than I guess I can give myself a little bit of a break, and not throw something out entirely when I realize that a scene or a character or something has been unconsciously inspired by something I’ve read and enjoyed.
I can’t help but remember that Luke didn’t lift the X-wing out on his own; he had to see Yoda do it before he believed it was possible, and even after he did, he never lifted it out on his own . . . I need to go think about that for a little while, possibly in a hollowed-out tree.
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Makes a lot of sense to me. I’ve had similar experiences when attempting to write fiction. I like the stew analogy, that’s cool.
So, Wil… You like Scalzi, right (I mean his books!). Think about OMW… most of the elements of that book have been done elsewhere. Consciousness transfer? Yep. Nasty aliens doing nasty things to humans? Yep. FTL? Hell yep.
What makes it a good read is the characterization, good plotting, a coherent, believable world (yeah, you have to suspend disbelief, but it’s internally consistent)… and just flat out good writing.
You can write, we know that. So what are you reading this for? You’re 3-1/2 months into 2008! Go write some fiction, man.
Just go for it Wil. In case you don’t have enough pressure thousands of us wannabe writers are living vicariously through you. Seriously, on the topic of Pratchett & Discworld, “this has been done before and better” never stopped people like, I dunno, J.K. Rowling from writing about a school for wizards.
Another thing I learned when getting my degree in writing: there are only 20 stories we tell. Just focus on telling this instance of #14 or #8 as well as *you* can. Until you find your voice for fiction, of course you’re going to sound like your influences. Relax, ask yourself, ‘what if?’ a lot, and don’t stop at your first right answer.
Hope that helps. Hang in there.
A couple of very interesting links on the idea that we might someday soon “run out” of original melodies. Now, fiction probably has a somewhat broader domain to draw from, but it does seem like sooner or later we’re going to be in a spot where finding truly new story ideas is going to be increasingly difficult.
http://everything2.com/e2node/Yes%2521%2520We%2520have%2520no%2520bananas%2521
http://tamponteabag.blogspot.com/2005/09/peak-melody.html
I’m trying to hard
Kinda personal, isn’t that? 😉
Hey, very long time lurker, first time poster (I think. my memory is not so good). Your post really resonated with me because I know exactly where you are coming from, and it’s a huge hurdle to get over.
Here’s what I always remind myself…no matter how much I might be influenced by the art around me, each story I tell will always be [I]mine[/I]. It’ll always be personal. You could post a prompt or a story summary that we all must follow, and every single response will be different and interesting in its own way. You have your own beliefs, your own “kinks”, your own life experiences, your own view of the world. And that as all going to inform your fiction as much, if not more so, than the other books, movies, and tv shows you enjoy.
Sure the world as seen a story about, say, the boy who learns he has great power. But the world has never seen your story about a boy who learns he has great power.
I was going to extend the Star Wars analogy into the realm of absurdum, but it got away from me….
I actually have a big problem with this as well. Not that I’ve completely overcome this obstacle, but I find it helps a lot to look for narratives and themes in unorthodox places. Biographies, events both current and historical, obscure tales or legends, and your own experiences.
Just the way you said in your last post that you could have spent all day in Rockstar games’ research department – I think once you get into it, you’ll find a whole whack of new, interesting material to work with, enough to give your work that twist it needs to separate itself from your favourite fiction.
Hey Wil,
“Enemy Mine” sure was interesting when it was called “Hell in the Pacific” (an excellent film, that I highly recommend; you can’t really go wrong with Toshiro Mifune and Lee Marvin).
What I mean to say by that comment, is just because things have been done before you should not discount them as good ideas. If you bring something new to the table or twist that convention on its head or just tell it in a really compelling way, I don’t think it matters if it is a plot or a character that has been done before. In some ways, it has all been done before. If Lucas hadn’t ripped off “The Hidden Fortress,” you would not have been quoting Yoda in your post.
This quotation from Eudora Welty is my motto for writing: “Whatever the place, it had been visited by a stranger, it will never be new again. Only the vision can be new; but that is enough.”
Hope that helps.
Hi Wil,
Your friendly neighborhood lurker here. I know where you are coming from. Generally, the reason I don’t post is because it has all been said before, much better, by pretty much everyone else.
But you know what? I’ve never expressed this idea to you before. I’ve not had the chance to give you my own unique expression that you will experience in your own unique way.
Sure – everyone else who posts is saying the same thing. I can only hope I strike a unique chord. Because after all it is me, and it is you.
For Pete’s sake hon. Ease up. You are fantastic and whatever you produce/write is unique and special to you. You aren’t copying anybody.
I am going to go back to lurking now. I feel soooo… embarrassed.
Wil, you’ve _done_ this before.
You take each character, decide how he/she feels about things, and inform their choices in the fiction from that.
When you were doing it before, you called it acting. Treat each character as though you were acting the part, and you will know what they will do and say.
Have more than one character/environment and you then have the other necessity: conflict.
Your character’s conflict with their environment or with other character’s actions or feelings are the basis of the story – how they act, what they do, determines how the conflict resolves itself.
You’ve done it on film, on TV, I bet in improv..
quit blocking yourself with the “can I do this?” vibe. You’ve already done it.
I don’t remember exactly who said it, but there are few “new” ideas. What exists is new spins on old ideas. That’s how you get “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” from Homer’s “The Odyssey.”
Terry Pratchett is excellent at this, as noted in your own post. But “The Lord of the Rings” (and the entire genre that spawned) wouldn’t exist with out Gaelic and Celtic lore, and so forth.
“Firefly” wasn’t the show it was because it was a new idea, but it was some existing stories told in a new way that really made the show.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is don’t stop writing a story just because it’s like something else, follow it through, and then have someone else read it (I volunteer! 😉 ) and let them make the determination if it’s too much like something else. If it is, then fine, you’ve done nothing more then help refine the process of finding your voice and setting. If it isn’t, then perhaps you’re onto something!
Hey Wil:
That stuff about lifting planes out of swamps and having people help you do it and going to sit in trees would make a really good story!
You should write it.
Creativity builds on what came before. Very little is created whole cloth.
Tolkien drew from Norse and Anglo-Saxon myths for the Lord of the Rings.
George Lucas drew on the Hero’s Journey.
Stephen King’s Dark Tower books draw on westerns and the Lord of the Rings.
Steal greatly from genius’ in the field and make it your own. Then you’ll be the next genius fiction writer.
I feel this quote is appropriate for the situation.
“Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it.”
– Laurence J. Peter
So don’t worry about writing something might have been done before, just concentrate on writing the story you want to write.
C’mon Wil, you know you realllly want to write a zombie apocalypse novel.
Just like I reallly want to read it.
I’m not sure if this makes you feel better or not but…there’s nothing new under the sun. Hasn’t been for quite some time, it seems. And yet, people are still writing books, making music, etc., etc. Does that help?
And if you do wind up inside that tree, just remember: What you’ll find inside is only what you take with you.
Terry Pratchett also pointed out the remarkable similarity between English chips (fries to you furriners) and “little paper bags full of pus”. Which proves that he IS a Genius with a capital Gee.
Funnily enough, I was not five minutes ago re-reading this post by an lj-friend that might provide some food for thought on this topic…
Being from Hollywood, you may have gotten to attuned to the “high concept” mode of thinking, where a work is defined by a single sentence, like “Guy travels through time into other peoples’ bodies.” In reality, there are only so many original concepts we’re likely to have, and only so many of them are worth writing about. What defines you work will not be the basic premise, but it will be the sum total of the characters, dialogue, themes, wordplay, pop-culture references, sarcasm; in short, the sum total of all the elements you can muster up. It will be original because it will be a reflection on your personality and writing style. A dozen people have already said the same thing in this thread, but the real flavor is in how we spice up yesterday’s leftovers.
Hollow trees are DA BOMB, yo. If it weren’t against the laws of nature, I would make one me wife!
As to your problem. Remember it is like a pot luck stew. You take but put back in. So, just put back in. And don’t feel bad if what you put back in isn’t good. I believe it was Hemmingway who said that writer’s block is trying to be a genius on the first draft.
But what you put back in doesn’t have to be completely original, either. Sometimes just putting two idea together is all you need to do. like something that’s a combination of Quantum Leap, Enemy Mine, with a dash of… say… Stand By Me thrown in for good measure. Perfect.
You are unfit to judge where your work stands in the grand scheme of things. So stop doing that and just write.
(so says the procrastinating dirtbag)
I’ve been there too – in fact not three days ago, but your commenters, and dear Terry and Neil, are right. The world of fiction is a stew pot. The act of writing is an act of transformation, not only for the writer, and the story, but for the eventual reader in a sense, too.
Besides, I kind of get a thrill when I recognize pieces of previous stories of legends or whatever else in the things I’m reading.
You can do eet!
I say just start throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks. You know this already, but half the battle when it comes to writing is 1) shutting up the critic in your head, and 2) being willing to delete things–even some of the good stuff sometimes, if I doesn’t fit. (I’m so bad at that!) When you come down to it, there’s nothing new under the sun…but what you write will have your own spin, your own personality in it. Maybe it won’t satisfy you on the 1st or 2nd or 30th try, but eventually you’ll realize that you really have created something new.
(And hey, we literary critics thrive on allusions/references/intertextuality. If you make those references conscious ones, just think of all the geeky people you will delight!)
the yoda simile just isn’t working out for me. his whole speech syntax makes me crazy. maybe it’s the english teacher in me. good luck with the writing…go to the degobah system or something.
“There is nothing new under the sun.”
And don’t let
NimueAnne seal you in that tree.Mike Belrose, “A dozen people have already said the same thing in this thread, but the real flavor is in how we spice up yesterday’s leftovers…”
To: “jon singleton”
Subject: Re: Numb3rs — ‘Ultra World’ starring Wil Wheaton [Ahoy! Version]
Jack Spencer Jr, “Sometimes just putting two idea together is all you need to do. Like something that’s a combination of Quantum Leap, Enemy Mine, with a dash of… say… Stand By Me thrown in for good measure. Perfect…”
Stargate SG-1, the American Canadian science fiction television series, is an incredibly “yeasty” example of postmodern generic cuisine. Mike and Jack really have hit that GenX cultural button — the 1980s!
Where are the gritty C21 sci-fi-esque texts exploring transdimensional Breakfast Clubbers tourist-visiting Ramsay Street, a fictional residential street in the Australian soap opera Neighbours (google the tv show and see how it all began with Oz popstar-actors Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan)!?!
Yes, where exactly are the gritty GenX characters in contemporary postmodern sci-fi genre fiction? Where am I — a 39 year old OUT gay guy who does freelance transgenic pathogen research analysis (incredibly, by the way) and yet is a second class citizen because a bunch of homophobic politicians enjoy the violent act of bigotry!?!
Yes, think ’bout it for just a second… Where are the cultural representations showing us millions of folk who are “infantalized” by tossers who $ benefit from the status quo remaining. Wil, write ’bout the socially ostracized GenX Oz gay guy who sends out e-list emails ’bout Japanese H5N1 pre-pandemic vaccine plans, in the naive hope our generation will survive the H2H-H5N1 transgenic pandemic!?!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
From: “jasondonovan.org.uk”
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:08:48 +0100
Please can you take this address off your mailing list. I am not interested in your spam.
Thank you
http://www.jasondonovan.org.uk
http://www.myspace.com/jasondonovanofficial
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
That line has always bugged me. It’s one of the lamest pieces of advice a teacher can give a student. Of *course* there is try. Trying is good. Failing and trying again is what it is all about.
Hi Wil,
Your voice is unique. I love the way you put words together. Familiar themes will become different works in your voice.
Putting words together is not necessarily telling a good story. You tell a good story.
Here’s an example: Five people witness a bank robbery. The police interview all of them, plus a couple of people that happened to be on the street outside the bank. As often happens, the police end up with seven different accounts.
It has to do with where they were standing, when they started paying attention, what they thought was important or out of place, and how it impacted them personally.
There are, truly, seven different stories, even though they are all about the same event.
That said, I’m having the same problem. I chalk it up as part of the process. It helps me develop my characters, but the pages I’ve written lately don’t really belong in this story. Good news: I have a couple of snippets that will endure.
It’s a long process. Hang in there!
Wil –
I’m curious what your thoughts on Terry P are. I was reading the beginning where you were agonizing over ripping off other creators. (I can’t tell you how pissed off I was when I realized John Lennon had already written “Imagine”) Anyways, I immediately thought “being a hack isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I mean, Sword of Shanarrah is a totally hackjob on LOTR and that worked out ok…and then you went and mentioned Terry P. Weird.
Any case, keep plugging, it’ll come.
here’s a tip wil, whenever you want a fresh perspective on your scene put a character in a chicken suit(not permamently of course).
Wil,
I read your blog on a daily basis (or whenever you find time to post), heh. While I’m a programmer by trade, I do love to write and I understand exactly where you are. The problem is that you have your brain in the way of your heart. There is a scene in Finding Forrester that Sir Connery tells the young writer to sit down and write.
The young writer asks, “Write what?”
“Any thing, just write. Don’t think, write.”
Your brain comes into the picture when you are ready to edit not during the discovery (first draft). Don’t think about the story, think about the characters and what they are supposed to do or not do, let them carry the story not you. Don’t get in the way.
Anyways that is my advice…
I wonder if your blogging and twitter use might be tainting the way that you write just a bit? You’ve become accustomed to having an immediate audience to your thoughts.
Don’t worry about what people *might* think about your story while you are writing it… remember that it is a first draft that most -if not all – people will likely never see. Relax and enjoy getting the story out of your head – you have all the power to edit to your level of perfection later, prior to anyone ever laying eyes on your work.
Wil, you know what? The whole point of genre fiction is that titles in that genre are tied together through recurrent familiar elements, themes, tropes, and styles.
A jazz musician once said that a great solo is 90% familiarity, 10% ingenuity. I think it’s the same way with genre fiction.
And when all else fails, do what Stephen King tells you not to do: outline. Outline, outline, outline. Because when you can see the road ahead of you, the writing becomes enjoying the trip, not finding the way.
So? Go ahead and write “Enemy Mine” or “Quantum Leap”. Get into the habit of writing, and don’t fret about whether it’s been done or not. Just write the damned thing. I mean, the idea’s there in your head, asking (demanding?) to be let out. Hardly seems fair to the poor thing to deny it freedom just because it looks like something else that someone else set free.
Write enough stuff, and eventually you’ll start producing stuff that you’ll be happier with. But the trick is to get into the habit.
We all stand on the soldiers of giants. Robin McKinley’s Beauty was an excellent retelling of Beauty and the Beast, which was the tale of Cupid and Psyche, and Disney made her version into the definitive one.
I agree Daniel, the “Do or do not, there is no try.” always bugged me too. When I was quite small my dad tried to drill that into my head and I thought he was sniffing glue.
And, I was super pissed when I finally got out of the house and found out that he’d cribbed the phrase from Yoda…yeesh!
I also liked the stew metaphor and wil try hard to remember it as I continue to attempt writing…struggling to find your authentic voice while simultaneously trying to create something “new” and “interesting” and “worth reading” has always been a juggling act that has scared the be-jeezus out of me. Yay for Neil Gaiman!
I wondered if you had ever read Joseph Campbell? Check out the Power of Myth if you haven’t already. It helped me realize that there are some core stories about being human that will always be relevant and will always be retold. Telling a story about something that is at the centre of what it means to be you is about as original as it gets, yet it can’t help but be familiar to the reader because at our core we have far more in common than we have that keeps us apart.
Good luck Wil! I know you’ll figure it out.
sorebikr: Terry Pratchett didn’t write the Shannara books. That was Terry Brooks.
I happened across your blog earlier this evening for the first time, and I’ve just spent around 2 hours reading old entries, every one of which was worth the time – so yes, you can write, and ditto to what everyone else has already said re originality. Very cool stuff, you’re right beside BBSpot & TomatoNation in my bookmarks!
My fiance’s composition teacher always says “good composers borrow, great composers steal.”
I suppose this is the same sort of thing.
John Williams stole stuff from masters before him for almost all of his famous stuff. So don’t worry about it, I am sure you are doing great.
Curly, when nine hundred years old you are, sideways you will speak too, yes!
Wil, Robert Heinlein once compared writing to car theft – get it across the state line, file off the serial numbers, change the body lines a little, and the story is yours! And I figure if it’s good enough for Heinlein, it’s good enough for the rest of us…
Very few auhthors “reinvent” a genre or sucklike. It’s all been done. When I first read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, I thought, well, what an interesting character, well written and so on. But when I stumbled over Sherlock Holmes I thought “Damn, that Doyle dude really made that kind of detective far better than Poe’s”. And I bet he didn’t think “By Jove, there was an American author who invented a character like my Sherlock Homes *46 YEARS AGO!* I better rewrite that character. What about a gay detective? Mmh…”
Hey Will–
First wanted th thank you for getting me through some tough days at work with the podcast you let ne made of the Phoenix con talk you gave….brought me back to my own youth and fond memories of Star Wars figures and toys……and though I was a kill the boy type I do appreciate your memories of the ST:TNG and will try to read more of them….
Now on to writing….being as I am attempting to write myself I can appreciate the ….its been done before and better thing but hell you have to write for your enjoyment first and let the rest come ….. so what if someone else is or has written it you haven’t and who know where you might take the same idea…..well maybe helping here will get me to start writing myself….
I’m sorry I was a kill the boy sort of ST:TNG fan I really appreciate you now….
take care
Greg