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
- Newsletter Sign-Up: https://timwaggoner.com/contact.htm
- Website: www.timwaggoner.com
- Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tim-Waggoner/author/B001JP0XFM?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
- Blog: http://writinginthedarktw.blogspot.com/
- YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/timwaggonerswritinginthedark
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tim.waggoner.9
- Instagram: tim.waggoner.scribe
- Threads: @tim.waggoner.scribe@threads.net
- Bluesky: @timwaggoner.bsky.social
