Ever had that Ah! Ah! Moment. When it hits you that you’ve wasted too much time trying to figure out where the money in hand customer is hiding?
I had that Ah! Ah! Moment today, when I read page 152 of Steven Pressfield’s book titled ‘the WAR of ART. Breaking Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles.’ He learned it from Robert McKee, and I’m so thankful he’s passed it along. For those who have not read his book, I highly recommend reading it.
You see for years I was obsessed with Internet Marketing, especially having the best SEO search tool and software programs so I could find out which were the money making topics I should write about. My challenge was always coming up with an idea for an outline so that I could write down words on a page.
It wasn’t till I read page 152 of Steven’s book I understood why I had writer’s block. He writes; A hack, he says, is a writer who second-guesses his audience. When the hack sits down to work, he doesn’t ask himself what’s in his own heart. He asks what the market is looking for.
The hack condescends to his audience. He thinks he’s superior to them. The truth is, he’s scared to death of them or, more accurately, fearful of being authentic in front of them, scared of writing what he feels or believes, what he thinks is interesting. He’s afraid it won’t sell. So he tries to anticipate what the market wants, then gives it to them.
In other words, the hack writes hierarchically. He writes what he imagines will play well in the eyes of others. He does not ask himself, What do I want to write? What do I think is important? Instead, he asks, What’s hot, what can I make a deal for?
The hack is like the politician who consults the polls before he takes a position.
It can pay off, being a hack. A slick dude can make millions being a hack. But even if you succeed, you lose, because you’ve sold out your Muse, and your Muse is you, the best part of yourself, where your finest and only true work comes from.
Trust what you want, not what you think would work. Focus and write about what You think is interesting to you. Listen to your Muse. We all have one.
Ask yourself, What do I feel growing inside me? Bring forth for its own sake what you truly feel passionate about and have knowledge or experience of. Share that with the world.
For me, my Muse is my Wafflehoffers. These characters have grown inside me since I was about eight years old. My mother was an artist, and if she wasn’t painting on a canvas, she was writing stories for publication in her notebook.
Being eight years old and tired of being ignored, I asked my mother one afternoon while we both sat quietly in the lounge, to draw something for me. I grew up feeling like one of those children that should be seen but never heard. To my great delight my mother picked up her drawing pad and took the pen, she was writing with, and for about ten seconds she scribbled on her drawing pad. She ripped off the sheet she’d been scribbling on and handed it to me.
“So what are you going to call them,” she asked.
I looked at the ink drawn characters for a few second then shouted out, “Wafflehoffers! I’m going to call them Wafflehoffers,” I repeated as my mother turned her head to go back to writing in her notebook.
For years The Wafflehoffers, has grown inside me. My mother sadly passed away at the age of 62 years old from bone Cancer. I can’t recall any happy memories of spending time with my mom, except sitting quietly while beside her, so the day she scribbled those character’s on a sheet of paper just for me, holds very dear to my heart.
For almost fifty years I’ve been trying to develop the characters and personalities of The Wafflehoffers. Each time I’d re-draw a character or two in my drawing pad then set them aside for another year or even longer. Each time I look upon those character’s my heart would feel full, and I’d sense a feeling of joy.
The Wafflehoffers can do anything I want them to. Maple Wafflehoffer, my main character in my books can go on any adventure my mind wants to take her on, or she can experience any situation I want to put her through.
From now on, I will listen to my Muse. I will keep bringing the Wafflehoffer characters to life. I will write many more stories and take Maple Wafflehoffer on many more adventures that my Muse inspires me to take her on.
I invite you to visit The Wafflehoffers website.
