Thursday, November 28, 2024

Writing as Resistance

 


You’re a writer.

You live in a world that has problems – a lot of them – but you’ve always seen glimmers of light in the darkness, and they’ve encouraged you to keep writing, even if you sometimes wondered what the point was.

 

Then November 5, 2024 happened in America, and now you’re looking at January 20, 2025 careening toward us like an out-of-control freight train, and you see the famous line from Dante’s The Divine Comedy flash across your mind like the blazing letters on a Times Square jumbotron – “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” You’re well aware people sometimes quote that line as a joke, but you don’t feel much like laughing right now.

 

And you may not feel much like writing, either.

 

Dreaming dreams then translating them into words on a page (or screen) for others to read might seem like a ridiculous activity in the face of what’s coming, and I get that. But there are good – maybe even vital – reasons for you to keep writing.

 

Let’s talk about some of them.

 

But first…

 

If you’re MAGA, the rest of us will take it as a given that you’re thrilled to see your Manchild God Emperor ascend the throne for the second time, and you’re creaming your jeans at the thought of him getting to really fuck shit up this time. We don’t need you to tell us in the comments below, so I’ve turned them off for this post. You’ve got plenty of other places on the Internet where you can spew your venom, so GTFOH.

 

Moving on…

 

Yes, It’s Okay Not to Write

 

“Write every day” is probably the hoariest cliché in writing advice. The idea that regular practice at something will help you get better at that thing is common sense. But other writers trying to guilt you into writing, not understanding writing advice is one-size-fits-all, and that what works for them may not necessarily work for everyone? That kind of advice you should take with a shitload of salt. You don’t owe the world your words, and if you don’t have the emotional bandwidth to write at the moment, that’s okay. It’s okay to write, but less frequently than you’re used to. It’s okay to write same amount you always have. It’s okay to write more often and produce more than you usually do. In bad times, you need to take care of yourself, your family, friends, community, etc. If writing is a part of that, to whatever extent, great. If not (at least, not right now), that’s fine. Do what you need to do. But as I said above, there are some good reasons to keep writing.

 

Making Something is Doing Something

 

During times when we feel we can’t do anything to make a situation better, doing something, anything reminds us that yes, we can make changes in the world. They may be small ones, they may affect only a handful of people, but they give us some measure of control over our lives. Making is positive. It’s the opposite of destroying.

 

You Practice Mastery

 

I learned this from a therapist who presented it as a technique to help combat depression and anxiety. Doing something you’re good at (or working to become better at) helps you feel better about yourself. (Just don’t use the fact that you’re not where you want to be as a writer – who ever is? – to make yourself feel worse. Never use your art as a weapon against yourself.)

 

You Make Connections

 

It’s okay to write for yourself and never share your work with another human being, if that’s what you want. But by sharing it – with a friend or family member, with a writers’ group, on your blog or YouTube channel, in the small press, traditional press, indie publishing – you connect with other humans, and if they talk about your work with others or review it, you (and they) make more connections. If they like your work, they may seek out similar work from other writers, making more connections. The number of connections you make doesn’t matter. One is enough. All positive connections with other humans make the world better because you make people (and yourself) feel less alone.

 

Catharsis – for You and for Readers

 

During hard times people (including writers) have a lot of difficult emotions to process, many of which they may not fully understand or be able to face directly. Writing can help you process your emotions, and reading your writing can help other people process theirs.

 

You Promote Critical Thinking

 

My bachelor’s degree is in education, and in one class, a professor told us that half of the human race doesn’t reach the stage of formal operations, which means they don’t have the capability for true abstract thought. I don’t know if current research still supports this, but it would go a long way toward explaining the political divide in America. More recently, researchers have discovered that some people cannot create pictures in their minds when they think, and others have no inner narration, no inner voice. Writing is a process of using little marks on a page to encode ideas, and reading is looking at those little marks and decoding those ideas. Even the simplest fiction and nonfiction requires these skills, and the more challenging a piece of writing is to read, the more critically readers have to think. By writing, you become a stronger critical thinker, and by reading your writing, other people get better at critical thinking, too. Want to help make real, lasting change in the world? Promote critical thinking in yourself and others, and writing is one way to do this.

 

You Help Create Empathy

 

Recent(ish) studies have shown that reading – especially fiction – helps strengthen people’s empathy. When we read a story, we’re placed into the mind of another human being (or animal or mythological, whatever). Just learning how to see from another point of view is a huge shift in a person’s thinking. But fiction does more than that. It allows readers to experience life from a perspective that might be very different from theirs. A middle-aged man living in NYC can get insight into what life is like for a preteen girl in the Ozarks. An American living in 2024 can see what it’s like to have been born and raised in 1950s Tanzania.  Empathy is key to making the world a better place. Perhaps the key.

 

And of course, writers develop their own empathy through their writing, by identifying with their characters, understanding how they think and feel, what choices they’d make, etc.

 

And this is why your voice is needed, why all of our voices are. Because your voice as a writer is, in reality, the only perspective the story is told from. Everything in your story is you. Your imagination, thoughts, emotions, dreams, fears, joys, insights… The reader’s experience of your point of view, of connecting with you, is what truly creates empathy.

 

You Help People Escape

 

When I was in high school in the late 1970s/early 1980s, I read fantasy primarily, and my favorite series was the Xanth novels by Piers Anthony. I’d read the first three books, but had no idea if there would be any more. (There was no Amazon or social media to check and see; hell, PCs were still a few years in the future.) One evening, my father and I went to a small local bookstore, and I was thrilled to see a new Xanth novel called Centaur Aisle. I bought the book (I don’t remember which book Dad bought), but when Dad saw it, he asked if he could read it first. In my house, the rule was that whoever bought a book got to read it first. I was surprised by Dad’s request. He’d never asked this before (and he never did again). But I sensed it was important, so I said sure, even though I really wanted to read that book. It didn’t take me long to figure out what was happening. My mother was going to have surgery the next day, and while Dad didn’t show it, he was worried about her. He wanted to read Centaur Aisle in the hospital while she was on the operating table. It was then I realized that all fiction of any kind has a power that should be respected, no matter how bad I might think it is. Because if a book can provide comfort to someone during a difficult time, help them escape, even if only for a time, that’s an important, even vital function. It’s why works of entertainment should never be dismissed out of hand. Hell, if someone can find comfort or escape by watching a marathon of Porky’s movies, more power to them. Of course, people can find their escape in works of Literature with a capital L. That’s the point. It doesn’t matter what the work is. It’s the effect it has on a given individual at a specific time in their life that matters.

 

I suspect a lot of people are going to need escape and comfort over the next four years. Maybe desperately. You can give that to them.

 

You Help People Dream

 

Your writing can help expand people’s imaginations, help them see possibilities they never have before. The first step to a better world is imagining such a world is possible, then imagining what we can do to make that dream real. Your work can help grow and sharpen people’s imaginations.

 

Creativity is Resistance

 

In Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name,” one of the lyrics is “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me.” Noncompliance, freethinking, imagination, independence, creativity – these are Totalitarians’ kryptonite. There’s a reason why artists and artistic expression is rigidly controlled or repressed in their regimes. In the Middle Ages, the Church decided only God could create reality, and theater, by creating a lesser, false reality, was mocking God. Therefore, the Church outlawed theater – with the exception of Biblical stories. So, one of the things actors did was perform the story of Noah’s Ark, and make the animal characters silly and entertaining. They found a way to defy the Church and create a theatrical experience for their audiences. The sheer act of being creative, on whatever scale, is resistance.

 

And on a practical level…

 

Writing Will Help Keep You Sane

 

In addition to everything I’ve already mentioned, if you’re an artist, practicing your art allows you to connect to and express your deepest, truest self. It can help keep you centered when the entire world feels like it’s falling into chaos and ruin. Brenda Euland, in her book If You Want to Write talks about healing one’s self through work. She meant physically and well as psychologically, and while I don’t know if writing will cure my diabetes, I do know how it’s healed my mind and soul. So, heal yourself through work, and who knows? You just might help heal the world, too.

 

If you’d like to check out Brenda’s book, here’s a link: https://tinyurl.com/yh4svyep

 

DEPARTMENT OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

 

Curious about how movie novelizations work? The Hollywood Reporter recently interviewed me about writing the X Trilogy novelizations, and you can read it here: https://tinyurl.com/5ydwd2m4

 

Pearl: The Official Novelization Released


 

Pearl, my second novelization of the films in Ti West’s X Trilogy is out!

 

Right now, the book is only available from A24’s website, but it’ll be available via Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s sites soon, as well as in physical bookstores. Here’s a link to the book’s A24 page: https://shop.a24films.com/products/pearl-the-novel?srsltid=AfmBOorD_R3f0qroHZun9b5NKNVYEWjOjcD-XLX6_tRHl8DBpP9RV-Ye

 

The novelization of X came out in September, and MaXXXine is scheduled for release early in 2025.

 

Custodians of the Cosmos



 

All three volumes in my Custodians of the Cosmos series are now out!

 

This review quote for the first book is a good description for the entire series:

 

“The Atrocity Engine by Tim Waggoner fuses Urban Fantasy with horror, humor and adventure with shock and gore. And it works splendidly. Gripping from start to finish, with an antagonist to make you shiver, and kinetic pacing, Atrocity Engine delivers pure, pulpy fun. It left me hungry for more.” – Fantasy Book Critic

 

You can pick up The Atrocity Engine, Book of Madness, The Desolation War here: https://aethonbooks.com/book-author/tim-waggoner/

 

Terrifier 2: The Official Novelization



My novelization of Terrifier 2 is a hit with reader and reviewers!

 

“If you can't get enough of Art and his adventures in Miles County, both casual and hardcore fans should be satisfied with this take.” – Fangoria

 

“This is a well-written novelization that packs in some really interesting extra details and some gnarly new kills, so fans will eat well.” – Film Juice

 

You can pick up the book anywhere, and since so many people have been asking, I’ve already written the novelization of Terrifier 3, but I don’t have a release date yet.

 

Old Monsters Never Die



Winding Roads Stories has brought out Old Monsters Never Die, my eighth short story collection!

 

From the mind of four-time Bram Stoker Award winner Tim Waggoner comes eighteen provocative tales of terror that explore the darkest corners of the human mind. This comprehensive collection concludes with an unforgettable metafictional story on what it takes to be a horror writer. With this carefully curated selection of short stories, discover why no matter how much we try, in our deepest subconscious, Old Monsters Never Die.

 

“The turns and witty twists that Tim Waggoner so expertly is able to weave into his writing ensure that each story is complex, unique, and as readers we always want more!” – Jeremy Fowler

 

It’s available from Amazon and B&N, but you can buy direct from the publisher here: https://windingroadstories.com/project/old-monsters-never-die/

 

SCHEDULED APPEARANCES

 

Authorcon V. March 28th to March 30th. Williamsburg, Virginia.

 

Scarelastic Book Fair III. April 5th. Scarlet Lane Brewing Company. McCordsville, Indiana.

 

StokerCon. June 12th to June 15th. Stamford, Connecticut. I’m one of the guests of honor!

 

Books & Brews 2.0. August 2nd. Scarlet Lane Brewing Company. McCordsville, Indiana.

 

A Really Cool One I Can’t Announce Yet. I’ll let you know more when I can!

 

WHERE TO FIND ME ONLINE

 

 

 


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