Breaking the Laws of Nature: Writers as Wizard-Gods of Storytelling (or, This is Why Writing is Hard)

Jul 6, 2015

Here’s the truth: writing is hard.

That first draft you're writing? Hard.

The revisions you're pounding through? Hard.

The creation of characters, the building of a plot, the painting of the setting? Hard, hard, hard.

But here’s the other truth about writing: creating something out of nothing is technically against the laws of physics. It should be so hard it’s impossible, and here you are, DOING IT ANYWAY.

You started with blank pages. Empty nothing on a computer screen or notebook page. And you filled it. You put together words into sentences into paragraphs into pages that are forming a story. You are creating that story out of nothing. You are breaking the natural laws of the universe in order to add your story to it.

You tricky devil, you.

With every word you put on the page, you are making something new. Something purely yours. Out of the nothing of a blank page, you are making people, even entire worlds. Do you realize how powerful you are as you write? Creation is the realm of gods and geniuses. You are a wizard-god of storytelling.

source
It doesn’t have to be brilliant. It doesn’t even have to be good. It only has to be new. It only has to come from you. That is what makes it powerful. That is what makes you powerful. You are fighting the very universe to create something out of nothing, like some kind of renegade warrior god with words as your weapons.

So, yeah, it’s hard.

But just look at the worlds you’re adding to the cosmos.

24 comments:

Haneen Ibrahim said...

“creating something out of nothing is technically against the laws of physics” hmm, never thought of it this way and I like it :D well said, writing is VERY hard.

Tara Tyler said...

inspiring, down and dirty truth post! nice job!
and even new is hard - everything has been done, we just have to do it our way!

nice to see you again - it's been a while!

Unknown said...

"It doesn’t have to be brilliant. It doesn’t even have to be good." I think these words are especially important. Often, the first draft ISN'T any good. Sometimes the second draft isn't any better. It's a necessary lesson for writers to remember that even with hard work and enormous amount of dedication, a lot of it will suck at first, and yet slowly but surely writing will improve. Revising will reshape the story and plot, editing will chip away at all of the unnecessary pieces, and you'll somehow be left with this beautiful piece of art that you've created.

Dianne K. Salerni said...

I love this idea! :)
Artists of all kinds break the laws of physics every day! Very cool.

alexia said...

Awesome! It's funny, two blog posts I've read today reminded me of Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman for totally different reasons. But that book has an underlying theme of how stories are SO important for the world. It's true :)

Unknown said...

Believe-you-me, dear, you aint a god. Neither am I. However, I'll tell you who is. Lemme fill-you-up withe avant-gardeness necessary to achieve Seventh-Heaven, girly-girl...

Wanna wiseabove to help a 'Plethora Of Wurdz' which are look'n for a new home in your novelty?? Yay!

Q: But [gulp] can anyone tell me the difference between K2 and IQ? A: Nthn. In Heaven, we gitt'm both for eternity HA! Need a few more thots, ideers, wild wurdz (whoa, Nelly! Easy, girl!) or ironclad iconoclasms? Voila!!

VERBUM SAT SAPIENTI: As an ex-writer of the sassy, savvy, schizophenia we all go thro in this lifelong demise, I wanna help U.S. git past the whorizontal more!ass! we're in (Latin: words to [the] wise)...

"This finite existence is only a test, son," God Almighty told me in my coma. "Far beyond thy earthly tempest is where you'll find tangible, corpulent eloquence". Lemme tella youse without d'New Joisey accent...

I actually saw Seventh-Heaven when we died: you couldn't GET! any moe curly, party-hardy-endorphins, extravagantly-surplus-lush Upstairs (in [the] end without end -Saint Augustine) when my o-so-beautifull, brilliant, bombastic girly passed-away due to those wry, sardonic satires.

"Those who are wise will shine as brightly as the expanse of the Heavens, and those who have instructed many in uprightousness as bright as stars for all eternity" -Daniel 12:3, NJB

Here's also what the prolific, exquisite GODy sed: 'the more you shall honor Me, the more I shall bless you' -the Infant Jesus of Prague.

Go gitt'm, girl. You're incredible. See you Upstairs. I won't be joining'm in the nasty Abyss where Isis prowls
thesuperseedoftime.blogspot.com
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-YOUTHwitheTRUTH
-------------------------------
PS Need summore unique, uncivilized, useless names? Lemme gonna gitcha started, brudda:

Oak Woods, Franky Sparks, Athena Noble, Autumn Rose, Faith Bishop, Dolly Martin, Willow Rhodes, Cocoa Major, Roman Stone, Bullwark Burnhart, Magnus Wilde, Kardiak Arrest, Will Wright, Goldy Silvers, Penelope Summers, Sophie Sharp, Violet Snow, Lizzy Roach, BoxxaRoxx, Aunty Dotey, Romero Stark, Zacharia Neptoo, Mercurio Morrissey, Fritz & Felix Franz, Victor Payne, Isabella Silverstein, Mercedes Kennedy, Redding Rust, Phoenix Martini, Ivy Squire, Sauer Wolfe, Yankee Cooky, -blessed b9 ...shake well B4 use!

God blessa youse
(trust-N-Jesus)
-Fr. Sarducci, ol SNL

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