Do the weird stuff! In defense of writing what you’re afraid is stupid or juvenile

My brain works in mysterious, often not particularly mainstream, ways. Every year, with NaNoWriMo, I sit down with the other writers and, when someone inevitably asks me what I’m writing, I get a response best described as, “Haha, very funny. What are you really writing?” Possibly this is because I’m known for cracking wise. Possibly it’s because I’m bad at describing things when they’re in the early stages.

But, most likely, it’s because, while everyone else is writing the sort of thing that...