Dear Writers: Everyone Knows Everything, and No One Knows Anything … Except for Yoda and Stephen King.

I write about writing, nearly an article a day on the craft that, in part, pays my bills and keeps food on the table. Yet, as much as I write, I read about writing that much more.

There is no shortage, either online or at your local bookstore, of words from others expended on the craft … or the art or the discipline of writing. Theories abound as to what makes a great writer, and what enables certain writing to resonate and remain relevant for generations.

The collected work can fill volumes.

However, who do you listen to? What advice should you take? Writers tend to have their own theories on nearly everything, so who would be considered right and who would be considered wrong?

And why?

I have a theory. (See what I did there?)

Everyone is right, but there is no one mentor who suits the needs of every individual. Advice that works for one may not work for another.

Every aspiring career will lead back to start if you do not first research then adapt what best suits your circumstance.

“Personal Power”

Heeding advice, in general, to me is akin to practicing a given religion, or philosophy. For those of you who are not dogmatic, the analogy holds if you incorporate what what works for you and dismiss what does not.

Yoda, a fictional character in my favorite film series, summed it up for me, personally, better than most persons of the cloth or masters ever could: “Do, or do not. There is no try.”

Hence my daily work.

Allow me to share an anecdote. Many years ago (1989 or thereabouts) I received from an old friend a set of Anthony Robbins’ “Personal Power” recordings for my birthday.

Now, this is not a post about Mr. Robbins’ “success formula,” but I call attention to the gift for a reason.

The ensuing conversation went something like this:

“I used the tapes for the 30-day period,” my friend said. “Just like it said on the box.”

“Did they really make a difference for you?” I asked with no small degree of skepticism. “I mean, really?”

“I made an extra five grand this month.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” he said with a straight face. “My uncle died and he left me a small fortune.” He let me off the hook seconds later. “Nah. I just thought with all the writing you do these tapes may help inspire you.”

Well, the recordings did inspire me … until they didn’t. What Robbins was really peddling — and is still — was the knowledge of others who have succeeded before, and using himself as a repository of sorts. He did not keep this a secret; he said as much on his television infomercials.

As I’m not in the business of selling intellectual property and in-person gatherings for multiple thousands of dollars based on that knowledge, I’ll acknowledge modeling those who have previously succeeded has been considered golden advice for centuries … but a magic bullet it’s not.

It is, though, an important — and for writers an oft-overlooked — concept on which to spend a bit more time.

As are those other M words exploited by Robbins, and practiced by most any successful writer-preneur: Mastery and Marketing.

Modeling

Modeling is no magic bullet as everyone leads different lives. Adaptation is key. Some writers have children, some do not. Some maintain certain personal or professional obligations that require a degree of flexibility that the greatest and most disciplined of writers do (or did) not.

But education is a constant. A writer must never stop learning.

Read up on how others have succeeded, and use what makes sense to you considering, once again, your present circumstance.

Be persistent. Muscles build only with ongoing work.

Mastery

About those muscles …

Practice your craft with as much regularity as you can. Anyone can make excuses for not working.

Write, and edit later. Just … write.

Remember, every high-achiever who has ever lived has had the same 24 hours in a day as you.

Even The King himself.

That would be Stephen, just in case.

Marketing

Okay, so modeling the success of others and mastering your craft has become part of your writing muscle.

Marketing doesn’t stop, though. Your book, screenplay or article doesn’t automatically garner demand, readership and sales just because you are now possessed of a greater skill level and deeper understanding than ever before.

Stephen King is one of the few brand names in the literary business. J.K. Rowling is another. George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg can reasonably be considered their cinematic equivalents.

If these individuals no longer market their work directly, the machines behind them certainly pick up the slack.

Outside of their work, the above principals have remained in the limelight primarily through interviews and the occasional industry-sponsored appearance.

The fact that Lucas sold “Star Wars” to Disney and is semi-retired aside, every name above, with the possible exception of Rowling, has seen at least one flop.

Regarding Stephen King, his books have sold over 350 million copies worldwide. It’s safe to say he knows a little something about the craft of writing.

See his Wikipedia profile for further information:

King’s nonfiction tome, “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft,” is one of the all-time bestselling and highly-acclaimed works on our favorite discipline. If a copy is not on your writing desk, I highly recommend it.

But here’s the point: King, like the others listed above, has worked for his spoils. No excuses.

No trying.

In the end it’s all about the work. There is no other way.

Thank you, as ever, for reading.

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