Realtalk: Writing is a career. It has a community. You have colleagues. To suggest that you don't need or shouldn't want any of these things is ridiculous. Colleagues help each other out.
Catalog
Sam Sykes
Sam Watkins is an American epic fantasy writer who publishes fiction as Sam Sykes. His debut trilogy of novels, the Aeons' Gate series, was appreciated by critics for its characterization and dialogue, and for its deconstruction of standard fantasy tropes, but criticized for its meandering, derivative plot. He is the son of Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander serie
A writing career is like a pangolin driving a semi truck through a taco bell. Everyone is very impressed, but no one stops to think how many fortunes had to align to make that happen.
Seriously, though, not buying a book until the series is complete because you're mad at some authors for not finishing theirs is a great way to ensure there won't be any more books.
We don’t put enough emphasis on emotional intelligence and it’s left people unable to figure out how to handle their own.
Read more books, I guess, is what I’m trying to say. Read stories about other people, other emotions. Get emotions that you can’t get from daily life just now.
Positive change in the world, too, is an accumulation. Don't attribute tragedy to a personal failing. Do right by others and by yourself and you'll see your own life, and later the world's, shift for the better.
Stable happiness comes from taking care of yourself. Hinging your happiness on the decisions of others is fleeting. When your own happiness is stable, you can better help others, as well.
A lot of aspiring writers ask me about how much they should be writing per day. The answer, of course, is about half as much as you spend rolling on the floor and sobbing.
Anxiety traps you in your own head by lying to you, making you think things are impossibly bad so you won’t try to fix it. Let people help you by offering outside perspective.
Even if they like it, people will remember the plot twist, the worldbuilding, the gimmick only until they find the next one. But they’ll never, ever forget a character they like.
Any story that’s driven by characters will always be met with some discomfort or ire. Characters are emotions and emotions are things we simultaneously crave and would rather not deal with.
Happiness needs to be a stable road, not a series of brief moments of ecstasy. Measure yours in consistency and stability and try to avoid comparing it to friends' accomplishments. It's your journey, no one else's.
If you're having trouble writing fight scenes, I wholeheartedly recommend watching any Jackie Chan movie. Study not only how the choreography keeps things moving across a screen, but also how much emotion he conveys in a fight.
Something we don't talk about when it comes to worldbuilding is the power of NOT explaining something. Sometimes, just throwing out a word and letting the audience wonder what that could be is a good thing.
It's true you can't teach humor. But it's pretty easy to set up a joke the same way you set up a conflict: put a character in a situation they're not equipped to handle.
Game of Thrones saw its original print run remaindered. Outlander once came with a money back guarantee on its cover. Marvel Comics almost went bankrupt in 1996. No setback is permanent. No failure is absolute. It is never too late to create or succeed.
A habit to divorce yourself from is trying to explain away the success of someone whose work you don’t like. You’re contributing to your own unhappiness by focusing on them.
Writing a plot is super easy. First, think of a character. Then, think of what they want. Then, spend 600-odd pages keeping them from getting it.
I've said it many times before and it's no less true now: it's okay to be proud of your work. It's okay to promote your work.
Tonight I sat down to write and found nothing happening. This has happened to me ten thousand times before and no time has it ever been helped by berating myself, yet that's immediately what I did. It's weird how this job induces selective amnesia.