Write Dumb- Writing Better By Thinking Less Read online

  Copyright © 2019 by James Dowd

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  First Edition

  9781074165451

  Write Dumb

  Writing Better by Thinking Less

  By James Dowd

  Forewarning:

  This was entirely uncalled for.

  Everything you’re about to read is really dumb.

  There is a writing challenge at the end, which I recommend taking before you read, and after, to see how the dumb tips, tricks, and techniques helped. Sorry to add more work to this reading experience.

  While often direct, I offer all of this advice not as an authoritarian, but as a dumb Writer who made enough mistakes to know this is what works for this one dumb Writer. Use some, use all, use none, it’s entirely up to you.

  While not all of this advice will work with your learning style, do one thing: Start Stupid. Be open to new ideas, without judgement or self-consciousness, because that’s the only way to truly write.

  “We don't read and write poetry because it's cute.

  We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race.

  And the human race is filled with passion.

  Medicine, law, business, engineering — these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love — these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman:

  O me! O life! of the questions of these recurring,

  Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish

  What good amid these, O me, O life?

  Answer:

  That you are here — that life exists, and identity,

  That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

  That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

  What will your verse be?”

  — Tom Schulman & Walt Whitman

  by way of Dead Poet’s Society

  Preface: Everyone Can Write,

  But Not Everyone is a Writer

  “Words are sacred. They deserve respect.

  If you get the right ones, in the right order,

  you can nudge the world a little.”

  — Tom Stoppard

  Whether you write professionally or not, you might have heard the phrase, “Everyone can write, but not everyone is a Writer.” And, if you haven’t heard it, you might have felt it. It’s a common phrase in the writing world that’s used to shut people out, to lessen their opinions and abilities, and to prevent the Writer in all of us from coming out to play.

  I find it regularly used by Writers as a way to defend their jobs, their craft, and their perceived amount of respect deserved of them and their work in their respective industry while more and more people, positions, and products, like writing bots, encroach on their livelihood.

  That certainly doesn’t mean this notion is true. Everyone can write, therefore everyone is a Writer. It’s that simple.

  Even if you wanted to argue that not everyone can write, I’d argue that the scribbling of shapes and symbols to express and communicate is all writing is, and therefore it’s not as precious a craft as many would lead us to believe.

  As a paid and practiced Writer, I can confidently say that those who use this obstructive phrase feel they must defend their position because they’re threatened, intimidated, and scared. After all, they sacrificed so much to get here. They dreamed, they read, they scratched, they studied, they wrote, especially when so many others didn’t. They honed and cherished their craft. They furiously worked for the right skills, for the right jobs, in the right markets, in the right industries. They’re a Writer, with a capital W. This is who they are. This is what they do. This is what they always dreamed of. And yet, common belief is that because everyone out there studied the English language for many years in school, in the U.S. at least, we’re all fully equipped to be a Writer  —  to critique, edit, and even write in a professional capacity. How dare you, how dare I, how dare we try to capitalize that W and be a Writer, too! How dare we try to express ourselves and better communicate with the world around us! How dare we over-step our bounds, to try to be something that excites and betters us! Absurdity, for sure. However, that’s exactly why all of us must approach it with care. Because while surely every one of us trained to write in some capacity, solely based on the fact that we studied it for so many years, it can still be one of the hardest things any of us will do in our daily lives. It’s still expressing ourselves, and therefore exposing and revealing ourselves, our careers, our emotions, our intentions, our humanity — all frightening things to open to the world; to allow others to see us for who and what we really are.

  And, sure, to be a Writer takes years of experience and training — something to measure and defend. In fact, there’s a belief that being a Writer is something you must be highly skilled in, or that you have extensive education and world experience to guide your pen. But, the truth is, great writing usually comes from comfortably stripping away these things. It takes simplicity, and care, and unique personal experiences. It takes time, not talent. It takes passion, energy, and blood — all things each and every one of us possess. And that’s why, when we do it right, when it feels like we’re not only making progress, but making a connection with the page, and our readers, it’s incredible! It’s human. It’s an emotional bridge to our reader, and a personal sense of freedom. That’s a drug everyone has tasted and looks forward to. That’s why we look toward being a Writer, or at the very least be better at it.

  Remember also that job title in no way determines one’s skill as a Writer. Above all else, the simple yet momentous act of writing stands alone as the greatest attribute of any writer — doing, not talking. Writing, not thinking about writing. One of the best writers I know is not a Writer by trade. He’s never officially been paid for it, and his name has never been on anything publically. Yet, I anxiously await everything he writes and get excited for his new works, far more so than most “professional” writers. His name is Chris Hunt. He’s an advertising executive, and not on the creative side. He’s an account rep, a strategist and relationship manager. Emails and PowerPoint presentations are the only areas he’s allowed to stretch and flex his writing muscles at work, but afterwards, when he’s in his own world, he writes. He writes TV shows, YA novels, and musicals — all brilliant! None of them have been produced or published, which has more to say about the industries’ barriers of entry than his skills, because every piece Sings! He puts his heart into every word and does the most important thing any Writer can do: he writes, he just writes. He doesn’t tell people about his ideas, or spin his wheels on drafts. He writes and shares with his friends, always opening himself up for critique and failure and, through it all, evolutio
n of his craft. He doesn’t do it for fame or riches. He’s a Writer. And, when the universe aligns itself and the good ones succeed, you will see his name in lights. Let that be a reminder that it is not your title that matters, or what currently pays the bills. All that matters is what you bring to the page. To be a Writer you must write. Write, share, learn, repeat. That’s all there is to it. Your education is certainly enough, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There is no other great secret. Just don’t try to be Hemingway. Try to be Hunt instead.

  Keep in mind though that a Writer’s plea to “non-Writers”  to stay in their own lanes, to focus on their own jobs,  is merely a demonstration of their broken confidence. We Writers tend to be feeble, self-conscious beasts. Our sensitivity gives us our powers. Our thirst to know more, to feel more, to have more, to be more, fuels us and inspires us. And yet, it leaves a nerve exposed for the world to pester — to torture! This exposure leaves us always open for attack, and for the opportunity to feel inferior. And so we lash out. Be prepared.

  A close friend and fellow Writer, Jason Rose, once perfectly defined the life of a Writer with the bourbon-fueled comment, “Writing is torture, but great writing...that’s masturbation.” This epic line demonstrates how we Writers are tortured, exhausted, and constantly seeking self-pleasure. It explains the defense of the mantle of Writer, the struggles both internally and externally, and how we have very little capacity for criticism. However, it also explains why we keep doing it. It describes that high you get from putting your thoughts, ideas, and feelings onto the page — that sense of incomparable personal expression. But, despite that lovely high, it takes practice to be able to live and work in a world that actively seeks to edit and critique us, to take our precious drug away with an opposing opinion. It takes patience to hear the thoughts of others, to turn a solo exercise into a group one. And it takes a miracle to forgo your self-gratification for even a moment of agreement or accommodation, or to consider that there are now others in the world fighting for that same measly taste of our drug.

  That in no way excuses those who would say “Everyone can write, but not everyone is a Writer.” Writers, while skilled, experienced, and hopefully talented, are still, and will always be, subject to feedback and criticism. They’re not free from it solely by the fact that they accomplished the act of writing something. After all, this is both a job and an art form, and therefore subject to review and opinion. Plus, the Writer may just be suffering from the IKEA Effect , which is that psychological phenomenon that allows one to believe their work is great just because they alone crafted it, much like that IKEA furniture you painstakingly put together. While done, it still might look like cheap particleboard garbage easily found in a frat guy’s apartment. And so, our charge is not to fight but to check our egos, absorb everything, learn from everyone, expand our way of thinking, and to continue moving forward to our next hit. That’s how we became Writers to begin with.

  It certainly won’t be easy, though. The pursuit and effort of writing will make you a Writer, but as Jason Rose also says over bourbon, “Writing is 10% skill, 40% hard work, and 50% crippling self-doubt.”  It’s easy to critique and even harder to take critique, because the act alone exposes you to the world. Writing is a scary journey, and while some say you aren’t worthy simply by taking English classes in school, they’re wrong. Because you can write, you can be a Writer, regardless of what they may say. Just remember something: Great writing is not a series of words spelled correctly and lain flat within a set of strict guidelines. It’s not of a certain character count. It’s not done by committee. And it’s certainly not meaningless.

  No, great writing is music. It’s both painful and glorious. It melds words and phrases in such a way as to educate and inform while making you feel as if you’re part of a rare, deep, disruptive conversation. It hooks you, pushes you, and pulls you. It etches itself into your subconscious, maybe forever.

  Great writing connects emotionally. It lays obstacles and shows you the way over. It excites you, and incites you. It’s a skill, and an art form. It requires talent, experience, audacity, grit, and creativity. Even more, it requires empathy  —  the ability to feel and understand what someone else is feeling and experiencing. From habit to impulse and dedication to craving, if you can understand it, you can predict it. If you can predict it, you can provoke it. If you can make your readers feel something, they don’t need to think about anything, and that’s magical.

  Everyone can write, but not everyone is a Writer. However, this does not mean you yourself can’t be a Writer. And, none of this means you aren’t one already. Simply respect the craft. Then, be fearless and, despite all of this, never overthink it. Don’t let your own criticism or self-imposed limitations stand in your way. Stop thinking so much and laugh at your own inabilities, inferiorities, and inhibitions, and at that point, no one can stop you. Think of the reader and give them an experience. Take your drug and feed their habit while you’re at it.

  You may say who am I to be a Writer, to put my heart and soul onto the page, to write my name on things, to have the gall to think I could stand alone with my words, to take chances, to try? I say, who the hell are you not to? This is a gift we all possess, an art we can practice without advanced instruction, a form of communication that can not only reach masses but also exist forever in time. Who are you to deny such a gift? You can write, and no one else is stopping you from being a Writer, only yourself. So don’t allow yourself to stand in the way of something so fulfilling.

  Everyone can write, but not everyone is a Writer. Except, if you put yourself into it, truly. If you write with passion, energy, empathy, and truth, you’re a Writer — capital W. So, please, take these techniques found in this book as a challenge to write whenever the opportunity arises, no matter who you are or what you do for a living. I promise you, it will rarely be easy, but it will always be fulfilling.

  Go, be a Writer and use your words as weapons to change the way people live their lives, including your own.

  Introduction:

  Stop Overthinking It

  “Remember how long you have procrastinated, and how consistently you have failed to put to good use your suspended sentence from the gods. It is about time you realized the nature of the universe (of which you are part) and of the power that rules it (to which your art owes its existence). Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it.”

  ― Marcus Aurelius

  Everyone’s a Writer. That’s why we’re here.

  From writing simple everyday emails, texts, and social posts all the way to the big, time-consuming blog posts, movies, and novels that entertain the world at the end of the day, everyone’s a Writer because writing is a crucial tool in our everyday lives. Whether consciously or unconsciously, all of our other communication tactics are practiced and evolved each day, yet the moment we graduate from school, we do our best to limit our writing, running from it, even when we have something valuable to share, something important to express. Even our everyday text messages have become a sad display of writing, because what? We’re too busy to use punctuation, or full words, or anything close to correct grammar? It’s usually because we’re lazy, distracted, and scared, not because we’re incapable.

  We make excuses. We say to ourselves, I don’t know what to create. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to write. I don’t know how to write it. Someone else should do it. Someone else could do it better. I don’t have the time. I can’t slow my brain down long enough. The result is underperformance at work, inability to expand on personal dreams and desires, as well as stilted personal communications and, subsequently, relationships.

  Words, you say them and they float off into nothingness, but writing…it lasts, it persists, it’s undying, it’s you, and that scares the ever living shit out of us. Writing is exposing your nerves, your thoughts, your feelings, your true self in an enduri
ng form, so you must run as far as you can from it, because if you put any words down on paper or pixel, the world is bound to find out who you really are. And that is the most frightening thing we face in our daily lives — to be vulnerable, to be naked, to be revealed.

  I see the fear every day, and have for nearly two decades as a professional Writer. I see that it’s not a struggle maintained by only those with “Writer” in their job title, or those dreaming up their screenplays at the coffee shop. Writing is an everyday challenge for all of us, and it’s guaranteed to invite failure in some form at some time, so we either accept that, try and fail, or we don’t even try at all. We leave it for someone else, making excuses and continuing to run from the challenge. Or, we try and try and try, never getting anywhere with our efforts because we get in our own way. We think too much and feel too little, letting our fear and over-analysis paralyze us. You’ve seen them, and probably have been them. They’re the never-tries and the never-finishes. They never launched that brilliant business because they couldn’t even write the business plan. They never got the date because they couldn’t think of something clever to say in that dating app. They never got the job because they just sent a resume and moved on. All of these are people who rationalize giving up or not even trying as an acceptable path away from their fears and self-doubts, when just thinking less and writing more was the true path forward.

  Even for those brave souls that do try, and even those that do finish, and do publish, writing still remains an everyday challenge, owned and experienced by everyone who makes any effort at stringing together words, but I have found the simple solutions that work for them, and everyone else. For those stranded on the ends of the spectrum — the ones afraid to try on one end, and the ones unable to finish on the other — there is an answer to your writing woes, and it can be summed up into one phrase for all of you: