Simple Advice From a Master Storyteller
One of the hardest lessons for writers to learn is to: Put Your Butt in a Chair and Write.
It’s a simple lesson. An easy thing to do. Yet, most of us writers, myself included, tend to find a thousand other things to do rather than write. The stories are in our head, on our mind, nagging to be written. We WANT to write. Yet we fear that blank page. We fear finding words to properly convey the images in our mind on to that page or computer screen.
It’s easier to procrastinate.
It’s even worse for us, because most of us KNOW when we’re doing it. We chide ourselves for procrastinating.
But we do it, time and again. We mow the grass. Wash the dishes. Go for walks. Watch TV. Waste hours on social media or playing video games.
Today, while struggling with writing an opening teaser for a TV Pilot, I searched for writing inspiration on the Web. The first piece of advice that popped up ~ giving me the nudge I needed to get back to my writing ~ was from Louis L’Amour.
It was a simple message – a reminder to put my butt in a chair and write.
Start writing, no matter what. The water doesn’t flow, until the faucet is turned on.
And he’s right.
As soon as I started typing, the words started to flow!
Thanks Mr. L’Amour!
In case you don’t know who Louis L’Amour is, he’s famous writing western novels. He also wrote poetry, short stories, science fiction, and fantasy. The biography of his life was an amazing read. Throughout his life he haunted bookstores and libraries while traveling around the country and around the world. He’d go without eating, work miserable jobs, and live in skid row housing just so he could buy books – primarily, non-fiction books.
He turned his travels, work, tales he heard first- hand, and the people he met into fictional stories and characters of his novels. He sold projects for movies and TV.
Not bad for a guy who quit school in the 10th grade.
I remember reading his Sackett family novels ~ watched those stories and characters come alive on TV with Sam Elliot and Tom Selleck. Man, I loved that TV series!
So I thank Mr. L’Amour for his simple words of wisdom.
They got me at my desk, in a chair, at my computer, typing.
Hope this, or something else inspires you to get writing too!
