By J.S. Puller
Psychiatrists say that the five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Lesser known are the five stages of being invited to be a guest blogger for the SCBWI blog. These include surprise, elation, abject terror, PANIC!!!, and finally an oddly restful sense of calm, similar to, although not quite the same as, the aforementioned acceptance. Truthfully, I didn't know any of these stages existed until I received the immensely gracious invitation from Lee Wind, to whom I'm so very grateful.
ABJECT TERROR AND PANIC
I won't walk you through all of these stages, as I hope they somewhat speak for themselves. Suffice it to say that after the shock and delight of the invitation wore off, I was left with the horror of asking myself two questions (over and over and over...). First: Do I have any actual advice to offer other writers? Second: Just who am I to offer in the first place?
Well, spoiler alert, I'm not going to be able to answer that second question ever. The imposter syndrome is strong with my generation, and I have not escaped its dark clutches. The wonderful thing is, this blog post isn't about me. It isn't about my resume or my accomplishments (or lack thereof). Rather, it's about what I have to offer as a writer.
I struggled a lot in answering the first question though. What advice could I possibly give other human beings, many of whom are probably more accomplished, more secure in who they are, more successful than I'll ever be? In the weeks leading up to July, I went back and forth a lot with how to begin my stint as guest blogger, rejecting multiple ideas. And just like something out of a story, the answer came from the last place I expected.
CHILD’S PLAY
I began my writing career as a playwright, absolutely determined to win the Tony Award for either Best Play or Best Book of a Musical. The truth was a hard pill to swallow: The American Theatre Wing doesn't really acknowledge children's theatre. Or any theatre that doesn't make it all the way to Broadway. Nevertheless, I had some tremendous experiences in my playwriting career with some incredible theatre companies. One of them was the Growing Stage Theatre in New Jersey, where I was fortunate enough to have my first production in an Equity House, a play called THE BOX OF STORIES. I loved working with the Growing Stage. And I still do.
Since the beginning of their Playwriting Festival for Young Writers, I've been afforded the honor of serving as a mentor playwright for one of the four students chosen to develop a script with the company, each festival. Helping young people take their scripts to the next level is a wonderful experience. The thrill of parenting, the thrill of being a teacher, all without any of the long-term responsibilities required of these roles. Which is probably a good thing, since I can't even keep a plant watered in the long term.
When I was wrapping up my work with this year's student, I asked her if she had any questions. She told me she was nervous about finding the right tone for her play. She wanted to write something raw and real, with sharp language and a hard-to-swallow message. But she was afraid that it would scare away what she considered the most likely audience, young people. Throughout the process, she toyed around with toning down the language, playing up messages that ended with hope for the future. This would make her show educational and informative, something middle school students could perform or watch, paired with lesson plans about environmental science or extinction. The problem was, it didn't feel like her play. She lost her passion for the story and the storytelling.
"Well," I told her, "That's your answer right there. You have to write the play that you want to write, tell it your way. Forget about the audience. The right audience will present itself. Your job is to tell the story."
She nodded, feeling encouraged and excited to keep writing.
TELL YOUR STORY
I walked away from the conversation with my own answer about how to begin my stint writing for this blog. Ultimately, the advice that applies to a child applies just as much to the adult, when it comes to writing. You have to tell the story you want to tell. That's always going to be the first step. Tell your story.
This isn't earth-shattering advice, but there's probably someone reading this now who needed to hear it. So I'll say it again, once more with feeling, as we say in the theatre: WRITE YOUR STORY. Don't worry about the audience, don't worry about what the publishing industry looks like, don't worry about what you think an agent wants to see.
Say it with me now: WRITE YOUR STORY.
Sing out, Louise: WRITE YOUR STORY.
One more for the cheap seats: WRITE YOUR STORY.
With that, I'll exit stage left. And hope that as you read my next few posts, you keep this advice in your mind and heart, and apply it always, in every context, along every step of your writing journey.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. S. Puller is a playwright and author from the Windy City, Chicago. She has a master’s degree in elementary education and a bachelor’s degree in theatre from Northwestern University. She is an award-winning member of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. When not writing, she can usually be found in the theatre. She is the author of two novels, CAPTAIN SUPERLATIVE and THE LOST THINGS CLUB. She also has several published plays, including: WOMEN WHO WEAVE (Playscripts, Inc.), PERSEUS AND MEDUSA - IT'S ALL GREEK TO ME! (Lazybee Scripts), and THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD (Stage Rights).
Website: pullerwrites.wordpress.com
Twitter: twitter.com/pullerwrites
Facebook: facebook.com/puller.writes
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