TWP Part 4: Wings of Freedom (The Joy of Writing)

    I'm an anime fan, if you didn't know, and one of my favorite shows from the last few years is Attack on Titan. I especially like both title themes. There's a particular part of the second theme that caught my attention. Translated, it goes something like this:

     Didn't the birds break out of their egg shell in order to fly, not to crawl on the ground pathetically?
    For what reason do you possess those wings? Isn't the sky in the birdcage a little too tiny?

    This applies especially to writers. I've talked about it in the last three parts. Writers should strive to be great. They need to have faith in themselves, and they need to put their trust in their creative voice. Without them, they're just birds crawling on the ground.

    Spread your wings. Jump off the ledge. Learn to fly. Soar.

    And you'll find the world of joy that's waiting for you in the freedom of the sky.

    1. The Adventure in Front of You

    Writing is an adventure. Once you engage your creative mind, the world of your story unfolds before you.

    And the possibilities are endless.

    For me, this is perhaps the greatest joy of writing. I dive into the world and lose myself in it. I explore the world around me, going wherever it beckons me. There are no rules, no formulas, nothing to hold me back.

    And the journey applies to every kind of writer. If you're a pantser like me, let the story take you where it will. Let it lead you to adventures you never could have imagined. If you're a planner, travel to the destinations that you've picked out, and lose yourself in them.

    When you break out of the cage of the critical mind, there's no limit to where you can go.

    I've found that following this approach has drastically improved the quality of my writing. My novels have become progressively more fun to write as I've learned to trust my creative voice. An idea pops into my head, and I go "ooh, I want to take the story in that direction'. I spend less time thinking and more time creating. That creates a better story.

    2. The Adventures Ahead of You

    Not only do you have the amazing adventure before you, but you also have other destinations to travel toward once you're done with this journey. So why on earth would you put them off to stay wallowing in the memories of your previous journey? There's adventure after adventure waiting ahead of you.

    To me, that's one of the saddest things about the rewriting myth. Rewriting is like sitting in a dark room, looking at photos of one of your previous journeys when you have the opportunity in front of you to go somewhere new.

    The topic of writing rituals comes up frequently in writer's circles. People want to know what they need to do to get themselves in the mindset to write. They need to have a routine, a set way of doing things. It pushes them forward.

    I can only shake my head.

    Do you know what pushes me forward? It's desire to continue the adventure I'm on, but also the desire to reach the adventures that wait for me ahead. That really started to take hold during my second novel. I wanted to finish Howl so I could write Fang, and I wanted to finish Fang so I could write my fourth novel. After that's done, there's a light novel I want to write. There's ideas for the next arc I want to write. There's a fantasy series I want to start.

    All because I can reach for the adventures ahead of me. I'm sorry, but no amount of routine or ritual will even come close to equaling the fire it puts into me. Even on the days that I don't write or my writing is slow, it still burns. It drives me forward, because I don't have to remain trapped inside the birdcage. I can spread my wings and soar. The sky is truly the limit.

    3. Becoming better

    Agonizing over every word doesn't make a writer better. Revising doesn't make a writer better. You know what makes a writer better?

    Writing more original stories.

    Writers seem to operate under the strange delusion that they're the only medium that doesn't require practice. It's all about talent. You're either born a writer, or you're not.

    (makes rude, insulting noises)

    How the heck did this myth appear, anyhow? Sure, some people are naturally more talented than others, but you'd better believe that the 'naturally talented' writer is going to be quickly surpassed by the 'average' writer who works hard at improving their craft.

    'Learn more about your craft' might seem more restrictive, but it's not, actually. It's liberating. The writer is able to say 'I trust my creative voice, but I'm going to do everything I can in order to hone it'. They can write knowing that everything in their story doesn't have to be perfect. It never will be. But they'll continue to hone their creative voice, and each work will become progressively better and better.

    Practice makes perfect. And you don't have to be a star right off the bat.

    Write. Write, and learn. Give yourself permission to admit that you're not the writer you could be. You'll never reach that point. But if you keep writing, you'll keep learning, and you'll keep getting better.

    4. Trust Yourself

    When you let go and just write, your creative mind is capable of making something great. That same greatness can be completely destroyed if you allow it to be shackled by the chains of revision.

    I use a lot of passive voice in my books, which is a no-no in the English language because of some arbitrary made up rule (that's not even really true, at that.) If I had edited with a critical eye, I would have made a massive number of revisions to smooth it out. And I would have lost something important in the process.

    I kept Black Wolf the way it was because it felt right. To me, it flowed, and there was no reason to change it. I felt the same thing with Howl. I finally figured out why I was doing it when I wrote Fang.

    I write in passive voice when the characters are observing, particularly when they're trying to establish where things are in the context of a situation. It happens particularly in strategic planning sequences and during battles. I do it because the characters are being passive, and are reacting to the situations unfolding around them in their head. Once they start moving I switch to the active voice.

    But that quirk would have been lost if I followed the 'rules'. And my book would have been covered in obvious scars.

    Give yourself the freedom to trust your own creative mind.

    5. Wings of Freedom

    I need to revise.
    It kills me that these myths have such a tight hold on so many writers.
    I need to polish.
    It's almost like an addiction, and it's one of the saddest things about writing. Writers continue to mutilate their work. They clip their wings and try to fly inside the dome of a tiny birdcage.
    I need my routine.
    I need to find my muse.
    I need to listen to everyone around me that knows better.
    I need....
    And the bars of the birdcage become closer and closer every day.

    Stop. Stop crawling on the ground like a worm. Spread your wings and fly like you were meant to.

    I'll leave you with the last chorus of the song:

    We grip the gear of our fighting spirit, sing the song of the light of hope,
    and have the horizon of freedom on our back.
    With the chains connecting this world in our chest,
    we play a song of what might lurk behind all possibilities.
    Dance into the blue sky--
    Wings of freedom!