Whether you’re writing a novel, a short story, a screenplay, an essay, a memoir, an article… whatever you’re working on, at its heart is story: people, events and meanings that you want to communicate to others so they can make those things a part of themselves.

We are writers: everything we are, everything we do, is about finding the powerful stories within us and telling them as best we can. What does that take? Well, among other things — as Robert McKee says here so eloquently — it takes a lot of love:

“The love of story — the belief that your vision can be expressed only through story, that characters can be more “real” than people, that the fictional world is more profound than the concrete. The love of the dramatic — a fascination with the sudden surprises and revelations that bring sea-changes in life. The love of truth — the belief that lies cripple the artist, that every truth in life must be questioned, down to one’s own secret motives. The love of humanity — a willingness to empathize with suffering souls, to crawl inside their skins and see the world through their eyes. The love of sensation — the desire to indulge not only the physical but the inner senses. The love of dreaming — the pleasure in taking leisurely rides on your imagination just to see where it leads. The love of humor — a joy in the saving grace that restores the balance of life. The love of language — the delight in sound and sense, syntax and semantics. The love of duality — a feel for life’s hidden contradictions, a healthy suspicion that things are not what they seem. The love of perfection — the passion to write and rewrite in pursuit of the perfect moment. The love of uniqueness — the thrill of audacity and a stone-faced calm when it is met by ridicule. The love of beauty — an innate sense that treasures good writing, hates bad writing, and knows the difference. The love of self — a strength that doesn’t need to be constantly reassured, that never doubts that you are indeed a writer. You must love to write and bear the loneliness.
 
But the love of a good story, of terrific characters and a world driven by your passion, courage, and creative gifts is still not enough. Your goal must be a good story well told.
 
– Robert McKee, from Story”

Love your stories and tell them well. Face the blank screen and all your self-doubts; pour everything you know about being human into words; actively solicit feedback that’s sometimes hard to hear; and then suck up your pride and go back and do it again, and again, until it’s right.

Because that love will make your work shine.

Posted by: Kelley