I feel uncomfortable giving advice. Why? I feel that although I have been reading and writing all of my life, and have now ticked off some early writing goals from my list, I know how much I still have to learn. I just finished a documentary about filmmakers talking about the history of the movies - the love, craft, accidents, writing and rewriting, and …life that goes into making anything creative. There are two things I try to live by in my career, no matter what stage I am at.
First: Start creating. Start doing. Get your hands in there. I love learning and hearing about other artists and how they approach whatever craft they are a part of. But no matter what I read, watch or consume, it’s like leveling up in a video game, just inside my mind and my heart as a further refinement of my creative vision. I find the things you take in will inevitably introduce you to those artists and craftspeople that you then look up to, and in turn, you start to see whose style and world views you may be more aligned with. Like all things in life, everyone and every artist is different and no one will match up one hundred percent, but as an artist when you find pieces of art or artists that come pretty darn close, it can be a new level of fun for you and create a growth in your work. Keep making more and keep learning because as in life, each new endeavor will teach you new things, so enjoy the lessons that come with.
Second: Use all different pieces of your life and art into your writing. My family always had a variety of books, older movies, and TV around, which gave me the freedom to explore different things that interested me of all types and genres. If I wanted to get a science fiction book, a crime fiction, a book about sports, I would - nothing was off limits. I grew up watching and loving all the “new hip” shows when I was a kid like Batman the Animated Series, X-Men, Simpsons, and Seinfeld, but I also had a steady diet of I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and the Turner Classics Channel (when we eventually got cable).. When it comes to comics, I love all kinds. Of course I am a huge fan of the superhero genre, but inside the art form itself, there can be any kind of story you can think of. The goal is to get outside your personal comfort zone with new topics and new media. When I find out someone doesn’t like to read, I just want to say to them, ”Read anything you like!” Read something by any author that can make you have that special feeling inside where you are learning, enjoying, and experiencing something new. You may find that type of experience with one author leads to another, and then twenty years later, you are reading a book by an author or on a subject that when you were younger you would have never thought you’d be interested in. When you have a moment like that, it’s profound and really helpful – it not only helps you put pieces together and weave a new story, but sometimes helps you to feel that understanding that everything is connected in some weird way in art (and life) and inspires you to pull the strings to see who and what may be at the other end. See the humanity and the newness from the past and meld it into the present and hopefully your future.
Recently I had an idea for a story which was only a vague outline - it wasn’t until a writing contest’s prompt made the story, the characters and what it was about come into view. Within a few weeks I had it written and edited and submitted. I learned from a very real life experience that I needed to take different ideas, prompts, characters, genres, ways of life, and just start throwing those into my work. I don’t feel guilty going down rabbit holes of information or entertainment - - if I feel I have gained something from it, I am satisfied with the knowledge that someday down the road it may be useful to me to reference, or help me refocus my views into a whole new world. Keep creating and keep learning – it will help.