Thread by @fringeblog, How do you make your writing stand out? This thought has given [...]

How do you make your writing stand out? This thought has given me so much anxiety, and I'm sure it has many of you as well. If you've thought a lot about it, you may have your own answer(s) to this question. Here's mine.

A Thread 1/

There is now, more than any other time in history, more writing being done by more people in virtually every space imaginable. TV. Film. Web series. Podcasts. Docu-series. Documentaries. Novels. Short stories. Poetry. Essays. 2/

Most of this is done for cheap or free, partly because there are so many people doing it that the bottleneck of publishing/producing is preventing most of these from being potentially sellable, even if they're all awesome--and they aren't all awesome, trust me. 3/

Okay, that sounds mean. There is a TON of awesome content being created, but also a lot that isn't so great. That's just how it is. (Is that better? I'm really not a mean person!) 4/

When everyone is making bread, only a few will be able to make a living as actual bakers.

This doesn't even get into what the market decides is needed at any given time; this is why genre popularity waxes and wanes, why some content has a shelf life. 5/

There are tons of other writers with amazing resumes and the ability to turn in a decent draft.

Basically, the long and short is: YOU'RE COMPETING WITH A LOT OF OTHER WRITERS WHO, ON AVERAGE, ARE GOING TO MATCH YOUR TALENT LEVELS. 6/

You have no choice.

You cannot trust your talent to get you noticed. It's. Not. Enough.

Also, the market is too busy--frantic, even--focused on ever more narrow ideas and funnels of risk. 7/

Makers must differentiate their product from everyone else's, because in an industry where (famously) nobody knows anything, scarcity itself is the coin of the realm. 8/

(Yes, this is also art but unless you're self-financing, it's as much or more commerce than art and if you don't think that's true, this thread isn't for you. If you agree, don't worry, there's a silver lining, keep reading!) 9/

If something is different, unique, SPECIAL (and by definition special is scarce), then it could produce untold riches for the person who owns it.

Could this be an idea? Well, no. Ideas are rarely--possibly never--unique. 10/

More to the point, even if an idea is special, what makes you able to execute it in a way that will stand out as unique from the hundreds of other amazing writers out there? 11/

Think of all the amazing movie premises you have heard of and started to watch the movie, only to realize five minutes in that it was not going to live up to the movie in your head. 12/

Granted, this isn't all due to the writer. But as those of us on the producing side say, "Success and failure begins with the script." 13/

Okay, so if the idea relies on execution, perhaps EXECUTION is the sauce. 14/

Sorry, no (again).

Good execution is definitely a mark of quality, but every Oscar winner you've watched once and have never revisited for reasons demonstrates why execution isn't the key. 15/

Yes. Execution at a high level does differentiate the pro writers from the amateurs. Yes, it's vital to do so consistently and quickly. Yes, the bar lowers as you get more established so ironically you have more leeway (which can lead to stagnation or declination). 16/

VOICE. Okay. Now we're talking. But what is it? 17/

Voice is that nebulous aether saturating the writing, the secret spice that makes you sit up and ask the chef, "What is that remarkable flavor I'm tasting?" It's the sound of an unexpected instrument and a melodic throughline that elevates a symphony into a masterwork. 18/

I wrote about voiceyness the other day, but that's not what I'm talking about.

Voice is the aggregation of all the things that make you, YOU, and how it suffuses your work in a way that makes it notable and special.

BUT WHAT IS IT??! 19/ https://twitter.com/_/status/1380205351220477959

https://twitter.com/_/status/1380205351220477959

It's tricky to nail down just how voice works or what it even is precisely. But I'm going to try. I think it comes down to one thing.

You must be different.

You must be DIFFERENT.

You must be weird.

Unclassifiable.

Uncategorical.

Singular. 20/

Say what no one else is saying, and in a way no one else is saying it.

Conflict is the source of virtually all Western narrative progress, so be confrontational. What does this mean? 21/

I'm not saying be an arsehole, but let your words do your fighting, and let your fight be in style and verve, poise and unimpeachable distinction when placed in a line-up of a thousand other writers. 22/

Your writing should distract the reader from their phone.

It must cause them to forget to take out the garbage or make dinner or feed the dog (but do feed the dog, or your child, or yourself!).

It must be the undeniable force against which all of life itself is arrayed. 23/

I know this sounds hyperbolic. But do you really think you deserve to be read by someone with the power to say YES? Be 100% honest with yourself. 24/

Does your writing deserve the kind of attention needed in this oversaturated, media tsunami when there are dozens, hundreds of other writers who already are established and known commodities (yes, I use that word intentionally)?

Yeah... same here. I'm not there yet either. 25/

So how do we get there?

Don't write WHAT or HOW your friends are writing (hopefully they are different and weird too!).

It must be unequivocally YOURS. You can't be perfect and your ideas may not always work, but you can always be YOU. 26/

Your writing comes from the accumulated experiences and perspectives you gain from those moments. Can't get out much due to, oh, say, a global pandemic? READ! And not just screenplays! Read magazine articles. Read poetry. Novels. Short stories. Essays. 27/

And don't just read, but absorb the material. If a phrase hits you, think about WHY it hits you and what makes that phrase, those precise words, so special. 28/

Think about ways you speak and think that might stand out to someone else. 29/

Push yourself to learn new words and definitions. Don't rest on good when there's a better way. Never stop learning. Be hungry in your consumption of the world. And then turn it around and reflect that learning into your writing. 30/

Become more aware of what makes your observations unique. Maybe you discover that you don't just people watch, but you psychoanalyze them. Lean into that! Asking WHY is how you dig deeper. 31/

Analyze the senses and think about what is happening with the subject of your observations, and then think about how you are also involved as the observer. Twist it into a new angle. 32/

You'll find you can produce incredibly new insights and observations of old, trite, mundane things just by engaging every piece of yourself into the process. Train yourself to think in ways beyond the literal. Metaphors are your friend. Memories are your assets--use them! 33/

When you fall back on cliché, as we all do when we are tired or get lazy, don't allow yourself to be satisfied. Disrupt them by sincerely approaching the material with the aim of changing someone else's way of observing these same things. 34/

Cultivate the intimacy and specificity of details--but carefully! Cultivation does not mean proliferation--rather, it is a judicious use of a few words to convey the thought. Word choice is key here, so this ties back to the dictum to never stop learning. 35/

(You learn by reading, and the more you read, the more you observe, the more you observe, the better you'll get with unique takes on familiar scenes, & the more unique your views, the more interesting and tantalizing your word choice will be--a wonderful, virtuous cycle!) 36/

Your ideas are going to be a mix of mundane and amazing. And while you should aim to make your execution as flawless as possible, you will fall short. That's okay! You're human! That's what humans do--they create things that are both amazing and messy. 37/

Accept the mantle of brilliance bestowed upon you by the fact of your birth--unique in this vast universe--and your life, and the sweeping penumbra of moments you have witnessed and experienced in your time on this planet--has given you the voice of unbridled YOUness. 38/

That is your great gift--that you and only you can and will be YOU.

The only YOU that will ever stand out in a crowd of THEM is one that takes risks by being different. Unexpected. Noisy. So be different.

They will notice. 39/

That's not to say they will all love you or your voice. Some may hate it. They may hate the risks you take on the page. They might dislike your disregard of conventions. They may not understand why you wrote the way you did. They may throw your script across the room... 40/

But they will notice!

A strong voice can provoke strong reactions. So make people sit up. Make them question their priors. Make them FEEL. Make their heart sing. Make them angry. Terrified! 41/

Make them laugh thinking about a joke you made, how perfect it was in that scripted moment. Make them miss meals and make them hate getting to the end.

That's how you stand out.

You know what to do. You have it in you. Because you're YOU.

So go be you. Thanks for reading! /END

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