I wrote this six years ago. It's still true today. Here it is again.
âMan, I wish someone would write a story aboutâŚâ
No, stop. Stop. Stop typing that post, and start typing that story instead. Just type that. Then share that. Share the story instead.
âBut Iâm not a writer!â you might say. Well, maybe thatâs true now, because youâre not presently writing. So start writing, then. Look! Now youâre a writer! Itâs really that simple.
âBut I canât write!â You were about to type up a Facebook post, presumably using some kind of computer or phone. Donât want to use those? Grab a pen and some paper. As well as this, youâve already proven that you have an imagination - you have an idea for a story. You have everything you need to start writing. You can do it.
âBut it wonât be any good if I write it!â Yâknow, maybe thatâs true. But writing, like any skill, is something that gets better with practice.Maybe itâll take you a while to get that story out of your head. Maybe itâll take days. Or weeks. Or months. Or years. But you can get it out of your head and onto the page.
âBut what if I finish writing the story and itâs terrible?â Want to know a secret? Everybodyâs first drafts are awful. They are. Itâs incredibly rare for a someone to bash out a story on their first spin of the wheel and think, âYeah, this is good, Iâm done.â A first draft is like a sketch, and the sketch isnât the painting.
âBut what if people donât like it?â Then thatâs their problem. Shakespeare had haters, too. Didnât stop him from bashing out a million-billion plays.
âBut what if nobody cares?â I promise you, somebody will care. Every story, every piece of fiction ever penned, has at least one person out there who thinks of it as their all-time favorite thing. We live in a world where someoneâs favorite movie is Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Someone, somewhere, will love the story youâre about to write. Somebody will hold it close to their chest. Theyâll read it and re-read it, theyâll write metas about it, theyâll write fanfiction. And theyâll say to their friends, âHey, have you read this? You should check it out - itâs my favorite.â
âBut I donât want to write it⌠I just want to be able to read it.â And, yâknow, thatâs okay. Sometimes those âI wish someone would write a story aboutâŚâ posts inspire others. But often they donât, and that means that story idea swimming around in your head stays just that - an idea. Sometimes the only person who can put something into the world is you. Why wait?
Wishing is nothing. Hoping is something. Action is everything. Act. Write. Create. And let me know when itâs done - Iâd love to read it.
