Beat your imposter syndrome and self-doubt on your personal Hero’s Journey

You probably know the Hero’s Journey popularized by Joseph Campbell, the basic structure for many beloved stories. A hero gets called to action, enters an unknown world, faces challenges and temptations, fails, learns what they need to change, applies said new insights, et voilà: success.

I just realized you can apply this to your imposter syndrome and self-doubt. Many of you feel (or fear) you don’t have the skills to bring your big, new project to an end. I’m here to tell you: you don’t need to.

The hero at the beginning of the story doesn’t have what it takes to bring their journey to a successful end. It’s the journey itself that transforms the character into someone who has what it takes to finish it. The character at the end of the journey is not the same as the character at the beginning of the journey.

So start ambitious projects that you feel underqualified for. It’s not imposter syndrome or writer’s block. You're in the challenges and temptations phase of your journey. Don’t let them hold you back. Let them transform you. Identify the skills you need to acquire to make your journey into a success. Learn. Practise. You’re not “not good enough”—you’re on your Hero’s Journey and you’re on the threshold of your transformation phase.

(I told my husband about this idea and he played Don't stop believin' by Journey. Per-fection.)

If this helped you, you might want to take a look at the rest of my writing advice .

Now go tackle your dream!

bookishdiplodocus

Does anyone know if English has a specific word for crankiness in the morning?

#Dutch has ochtendhumeur #Sanne #Writing #writer problems

bookishdiplodocus

How to convey information through dialogue without shoehorning it in

So you have information you want to plant into your story, and you would like to do that through dialogue. Naturally, you'd want to make the dialogue look natural, so that it doesn't scream -> This Piece Of Information <- Will Be Relevant To The Plot Later!!! I never saw any writing advice about this subject, so I thought I’d write up a post about it.

Say, for example, you want to plant the information that Barney is afraid of fridges. Fridges? Jup. That's weird. Jup. Which makes it all the more difficult to bring up in a scene. And what makes it even more difficult, you decided you want this dialogue to take place before the Thing With The Fridge Happens later on, so you're in a pickle. How do you bring up a fear of fridges, when there are no fridges around?

First, I'm going to show you how shoehorning the information in a dialogue would look like.

Don't do this:

Annie and Barney are in a scene that has nothing to do with fridges.
Annie: "By the way," she asked casually, "have I ever asked you what your worst fear is? Since we’re on this quest together, we should know these things about each other."
Barney: "Fridges. They scare the bejeebers out of me."
Annie: "Fridges?" She laughed incredulously. "How come?"
Barney: "Well, one time my brother locked me into a fridge, and I've been afraid ever since."
Annie: “That makes sense, Barney. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

Try to avoid using things like “by the way” or “suddenly” in this part of the dialogue, because that’s a shoehorn red flag.

Instead, you want the conversation to flow from something inconspicuous to the information you want to plant and then into at least one other topic.

Do this:

Annie and Barney are in a scene that has nothing to do with fridges, for example they are thrown into a snake pit during their quest.
Barney deals with venomous snakes without a second thought.
Annie, in the corner, trying to get a hold of herself: "I can't believe you're not afraid of those snakes."
Barney: "You just got to know how to handle them."
Annie, in awe: "You're fearless."
Barney, laughs: "Trust me, I'm not. You should see me around fridges."
Annie: "Fridges...?"
Barney: "My brother locked me into one when we were little. I almost suffocated. Never trusted them ever since. Nor my brother, obviously."
The conversation continues about his relationship with his brother, making it seem like that's the important bit. You sneaked the information about Barney's fear for fridges into the dialogue about snakes and his brother.

Let’s break that down, shall we?

This conversation has three topics: snakes, fridges, and Barney’s brother. The snakes and Barney’s brother don’t really matter. They could just as well be completely different topics. (I'll show you later.) Their only function is to ease into the conversation about Barney’s fridge fear and ease out of it without drawing the reader’s attention to its importance.

Topic 1: Something present in this scene that has a thing in common with topic 2

Discussing the snakes feels organic and natural, because they are kind of hard to ignore in this scene. Make the first topic something related to what the characters see, feel, experience in that particular scene… Write a piece of dialogue about topic one.

Topic 2: The information you want to plant

Then transition into the topic switch. How? The topic of fridges and the topic of snakes have one thing in common: fear. Specifically, Annie is afraid of snakes and Barney isn’t, but he is afraid of fridges. Bringing this interesting bit into the conversation changes the topic again, because how can you not go into a sentence like this?

Topic 3: Anything related to topic 2 you can latch onto

The topic is changed yet again after the information you planned to plant. Just let this part of the dialogue run its course. It doesn’t matter much what you do with it, as long as you don’t stop the dialogue right after the moment you delivered the line you needed to deliver. The trick is to make the conversation flow to and from your chosen topic.

Let’s look at another example, something more realistic. You still want to convey the fact that Barney is afraid of fridges, but this time, Annie and Barney are not on a quest, they are in a romance novel.

Barney and Annie are looking out over the ocean. She brought a bottle of wine, a light breeze cools their skin, in the distance, a cargo boat slowly glides along the horizon. It seems like a perfect moment.
Barney raises his glass and compliments Annie: “You pick great wine.” (topic 1)
Annie: “Thanks. I did a wine course last year in my local community center, a series in which we learned all about the different kinds of wine and what to pair it with.”
Barney: “Sounds like fun. You should teach me sometime. Did you get to taste everything?”
Annie: “Yeah, of course. That was the main reason I joined. What about you? Which wine do you prefer?”
Barney: “Oh, I’m not a connaisseur. I like anything but white wines.” (change of topic)
Annie: “Why not?”
Barney, embarrassed: “Red wines are usually kept at room temperature, and white wines go in the fridge.”
Annie, after a second: “I can’t see the problem there.”
Barney, embarrassed: “Ah. Well. I don’t like fridges. Like, not at all. My brother once locked me into one, and – well, let’s say it was a hugely traumatic experience.” (boom, there it is: topic 2)
Annie, confused: “But – How do you keep your food fresh?” (change of topic) (doesn't necessarily have to happen so soon after The Line)
Barney, still embarrassed: “I go to the supermarket every other day.” (topic 3)
The conversation continues about going to the supermarket every other day and foods that Barney can't eat because they spoil too fast outside of the fridge. Annie is surprised to hear how many things can be kept at room temperature for a day or two. (topic 3,5)

That's it, folks :)

I hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions, and happy writing! This post was inspired by a question from @therska.

Follow me for more writing advice, or check out my other writing tips here. New topics to write advice about are also always appreciated.

Tag list below the cut. If you like to be added to or removed from the list, let me know.

#writing advice #writing tips #writing #writeblr #writing tip #dialogue #dialogues #planting information #writing dialogue #writing problems #writer problems #sanne #how to tell me a story #bookishdiplodocus #exposition

bookishdiplodocus

Writing doesn’t have to be realistic... But.

I’m serious. It doesn’t. Go ahead. Your characters can find true love in just a second. They can knock down a thousand henchmen before reaching the Big Boss. They can wield unlimited powers. They can turn out the be The One.

Is it unrealistic? Probably. Is it fun? Yes.

It’s fiction. It doesn’t need to be realistic.

But.

Writing doesn’t have to be realistic, but it needs to be consistent.

Realistic = compared to the rules of the reality outside your story, the reality you and I live in (most of the time).
Consistent = compared to the rules of the reality inside your story.

What I mean when I use the word “rules”

I don’t mean “You’re not supposed to do X in this society.” I mean rules that describe reality, not prescribe it. Rules that are as inescapably tied to your story’s reality as gravity is tied to ours.

Examples:

Why do we accept that Disney princesses live happily ever after with someone they just met? It may be unrealistic, but it’s consistent.
Why do we accept that one set of superheroes in one universe can wield unlimited powers without facing consequences (Superman etc.) and another set of superheroes can’t (The Incredibles)? Because the writers of each universe have made it clear to us that these are the rules.

“But, Bookish Diplodocus… My character is The One!”

GIF by nerdreamer

“My character is the One who breaks all the rules nobody ever thought could be broken.”
“I’m not breaking the rules, my character is an exception to the rules!”
“Their arrival has been foretold by Legends! They are Special!”

That may very well be. I enjoy reading the The One trope just as much as the next person. But just know that if you break your own rules, your reader may feel cheated.

So you need to do it well.

If you have established certain rules and you create an exception, you have to make it believable that the rule has an exception.

A well-executed exception

Well, take The Matrix for example. (Spoilers ahead, obviously.)

Neo is the exception. What is the rule? The rule isn’t that the Matrix exists. All the rebels know that. The rule is that no-one can manipulate reality. Jesus. Obviously no-one can manipulate reality. Do you take us for idiots? And then one guy shows up who can.

Why do we accept the existence of this one individual? Along with Neo, we are gradually led to realize it. Trinity believes he is the One. But what does she know anyway? Morpheus believes it too. Morpheus, as a mentor figure, has more authority, so we start to believe it. Neo doesn’t, not entirely, not yet. And then we start to see it, slowly, with ups and downs. There is a training session, a breakthrough moment, a failure, people around him start to doubt, but some keep faith. The Oracle says Neo may become the One, but isn’t the One yet. It’s only during the finale of the movie that Neo truly becomes the One.

The character arc from Thomas Andersen to Neo to the One is the whole story arc of the movie. It’s done slowly and well-executed.

A badly executed exception

I’m gonna make one up, because I’m a kind person, I don’t want to drag other people down. But we’ve all read books with heroes like the one I’m going to describe.

The hero is a teen or just a regular guy. Nothing special. They come into their powers, or start training, or… Within a few months/years/chapters they surpass the level of their mentor/teacher/champion/authority figure, who’s been doing this for at least 112 years. No need to think this is weird, reader. This character is the One, remember? I showed you the Legend that foretells his arrival in chapter 2.

While the character arc in the Matrix is done slowly, this fictitious bad example is done within the scope of a few chapters. Quickly level-up the character, so that we can get to “the real story”. And that’s the mistake.

So, next time a reader tells you something is unrealistic, they mean it’s unbelievable within the reality of your story. You don’t necessarily need to cut it. Go back and fix it.

I hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions, and happy writing!

Follow me for more writing advice, or check out my other writing tips here. New topics to write advice about are also always appreciated.

Tag list below the cut. If you like to be added to or removed from the list, let me know.

@therska @writingwordsanddrawingpictures @the-words-we-never-said@writingwhithotchocolate @i-rove-rock-n-roll @maskedlady @no-time-like-write-now @timefire25 @black-lakritz-dragon @nzmayart @fandomrandomness-stuff @dangertoozmanykids101 @anaestheticdisaster @storytellingofravens @purpleshadows1989 @mathematicpony @i-don-t-know-words @notquitenovelist @coffeescribles @reffaces @livingthelovelylife @katsglabella @lokitty-is-my-spirit-animal @thefallenbibliophilequote @watchmewritedumb @sting-the-scribe @kais-writing-shit @dameschnee123 @curiosityonmars @oodlittlething

#writing #writing advice #writing tip #writing tips #writer #writing a novel #writing a story #writers' problems #writer problems #sanne #how to tell me a story

bookishdiplodocus reblogged

brynwrites

Your elusive creative genius

Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

www.ted.com|Elizabeth Gilbert

Maybe you guys have seen this and maybe not, but I think it’s really lovely and a thing us creators need to evaluate more often.

Too long; didn’t watch: Gilbert believes it’s our job as creators not to be inspired or creative or geniuses, but just to show up and do our job, and we should view inspiration as something that doesn’t come from our own self, but is given to us until it’s time to move on to another creator, and that’s okay and good and we are not failures when the inspiration moves on, so long as we’re still there doing our job.

My favorite quote:

So if you’re a writer or an artist or any kind of creator and you’re struggling with your work right now: just show up.

That’s your part of the job — not to be great, not to be a genius — just to show up, and put what you have at the moment into your work, and let it be.

#writing #writing tips #creative writing #writer problems #writing advice #writing motivation

bookishdiplodocus reblogged

brynwrites

Fun fact:

Just because a story ends up needing more work than you thought it would does not mean you’re a bad writer or that your story it isn’t still worthwhile and fantastic.

Writing is an impossible craft to master.

But it’s still more than worth floundering through because if you keep going eventually you’ll come out the other side with something brilliant.

#writeblr #writing advice #writers on tumblr #authors on tumblr #writer problems #writing tips #writing motivation

bookishdiplodocus reblogged

when i was in elementary school i loved to write and my favorite assignments were the creative writing ones and, since i was a precocious reader, i would always incorporate elements of what i was reading into my stories. reading the prisoner of azkaban? suddenly a big black dog was attacking my protagonists. my protagonist goes to a zoo? suddenly a giant snake attacks him (i was big into harry potter, if you can’t tell). this continued until fourth grade, when we were given an assignment to write an original story, and i wrote what i considered to be an original story *heavily based* on a book i’d read recently, and absolutely loved. heavily based as in anybody who had read the book would immediately been able to tell i’d ripped it off.

but i couldn’t help it. the book so sparked my imagination that i had to write my own idea of it. i was 9, and my intention obviously wasn’t a cynical copyright cash grab. i just loved the idea so much i wanted to explore it on my own.

my teacher didn’t notice, and loved it so much that she read it out loud to the class, and i was over the moon with pride, until i came home and showed it to my mom, who immediately recognized the source material. “you took this from **** didn’t you?” she asked, and suddenly i was crushed. it hit me that i had done something Bad. i had stolen somebody else’s idea, because i didn’t have any of my own. after that, i slowly began to put away my writing tools. i kept reading, but i lost the confidence to write (part of which came from getting older and losing all that childhood confidence to puberty, but i digress), and even though i later realized that i hadn’t actually done something so terrible there, the idea stuck with me that i could never be a *real* writer, because i didn’t have any ideas of my own. I just wasn’t creative enough.

Anyway, a few months ago i was reading Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’, and it details his childhood and adolescence, how he went from being a kid who loved stories to an adult who made a profession in them. Well, i read and discovered that King basically spent his whole childhood just writing the stories he saw on the big screen. He liked dracula? he wrote a dracula story. frankenstein? same deal. he was writing exactly what he saw and read because - and this is what i now understand - that’s how children learn to write. we copy, and absorb, and then eventually we make our own. we write what we love, even if its an exact copy of that book or movie, and then eventually we make it different. there’s nothing new under the sun, and we create from what we see. stephen king basically wrote fanfiction as a kid, even if he didn’t call it that.

so if you think you’re not creative enough, or you’re not a ‘real’ writer, because you write fanfiction, just remember that what part of writing is. all ideas are parts of other ideas. nobody can create in a vacuum.

#writing #writer problems #writing motivation

bookishdiplodocus reblogged

when you’ve literally rewritten something five times and it still sounds forced and unnatural

GIF by sonido-bestial

#writing #writer problems #writeblr #writing humour #writing humor

bookishdiplodocus

*snorts*

I just went back to a WIP I hadn't revisited in two months. My last entry began with: "You do not have a writer's block, you can do this. You're going to write a kick ass chapter, right now."

I turned the page and it was blank. Yeah. So much for motivation.

#writer problems #writing #writeblr #writing procrastination #writer's block