A Writer's Life: Part 2

Rule number 4 for a successful writer's life is to:

4. "Be nerdy." It is okay to be openly passionate about things that you love! We don't have to be robots who all love the exact same thing. If we did, the world would be a very boring and dreary place. One of my favorite authors, John Green, once said, "Nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff.... Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can't-control-yourself love it. When people call people nerds, mostly what they're saying is 'you like stuff.' Which is not a good insult at all. Like, 'you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness.'" It is good, and healthy to be excited about things. Love things and love what you write about. Write what you are passionate about and don't apologize for it.

5. "Pay close attention to the world around you." Brother Allen, my creative writing professor at BYU-I, said, "the full measure of the human drama is on display all around you - look around you and see." It is okay to people watch, and see how others interact when they don't know they are being watched and then they put on a show; it is not creepy, it is writing homework :) When an architect wants to come up with new ideas for building a house, he goes to look at what other's have done before him and sees how he can make it his own. It is the same with people watching. You are watching and listening and observing, to try and make sense of the world around you and the people in it, so you can then turn around and create a believable world of your own. Anne Lamott has said on the subject of paying attention to the world around you so that you can become a better writer, "there is ecstasy in paying attention.... Anyone who wants to van be surprised by the beauty or pain of the natural world, of the human mind and the heart, and can try to capture just that - the details, the nuance, what is. If you start to look around, you will start to see."

So, let's get out there, be confident in our nerdy selves and things we love, sit down on a bench somewhere and observe the world and people in it, and, keep writing! :)