Literary Birthday – 22 April – Chuck Wendig

Happy Birthday, Chuck Wendig, born 22 April 1976.

Quotes

1. We’re all the heroes of our own tales. Even villains.
2. Here are the two states in which you may exist: person who writes, or person who does not. If you write: you are a writer. If you do not write: you are not. Aspiring is a meaningless null state that romanticises Not Writing.
3. Good story thrives on protagonists in pain.
4. Creativity needs time. We’re all dying. Fuck stagnation. High-five creation.
5. Writers are made–forged, really, in a kiln of their own madness and insecurities–over the course of many, many moons. The writer you are when you begin is not the same as the writer you become.
6. Dialogue is a little bit jazz, a little bit hand-to-hand combat.
7. In my mind, only one inviolable precept exists in terms of being a successful writer: you have to write. The unspoken sub-laws of that one precept are: to write, you must start writing and then finish writing. And then, most likely, start writing all over again because this writing ‘thing’ is one long and endless ride on a really weird (but pretty awesome) carousel. Cue the calliope music.
8. Even a small group of people can change the galaxy.
9. You can feel good about failure. Failure means you did something. You finished the story even if it wasn’t what you’d hoped. Failure means you’re learning. Growing. Doing.
10. Enter the story as late as you can.
11. Remember: a story is not a vignette. It has a beginning, middle and an end. It is not merely a snapshot in time.
12. Stories need conflict across the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual spectra. Accidents, betrayals, cataclysm, desperation, excess – these are the letters in the alphabet of conflict.

Chuck Wendig is an American author, comic book writer, screenwriter, and blogger. He is well known for his online blog Terribleminds.  Chuck’s novels include: Aftermath, Blackbirds, and Zeroes. His book of writing advice, The Kick-Ass Writer, will be available soon. Follow him on Twitter: @ChuckWendig

Source for image

by Amanda Patterson

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