Last month, I joined StrangeLit, an online writing workshop sponsored by Buqo. The goal is to produce an at least short-story length PN/PNR/UF work. The past week, work had been toxic and cruel (not complaining, just stating a fact, haha), and although I would end the work day exhausted, I always had enough energy to read the StrangeLit lessons from our mentors Paolo Chikiamco, Marian Tee, Kate Evangelista, and today Budjette Tan. Their words of advise were golden, and they revived me.
Today’s inspiration came in the form of a StrangeLit lesson from Budjette. He said a lot of valuable things about writing your first story that I will try my hardest to take to heart. And he couldn’t have ended his lecture better than with the words of a man called Neil Gaiman.
Something to reread as many times as needed, in those days when self-doubt and a neurotic mind threatened to devour all sense of creativity.
We are creators. When we begin, separately or together, there’s a blank piece of paper. When we are done, we are giving people dreams and magic and journeys into minds and lives that they have never lived. And we must not forget that.
Don’t worry about trying to develop a style. Style is what you can’t help doing. If you write enough, you draw enough, you’ll have a style, whether you want it or not.
Don’t worry about whether you’re “commercial”. Tell your own stories, draw your own pictures. Let other people follow you.
If you believe in it, do it. If there’s a comic or a project you’ve always wanted to do, go out there and give it a try. If you fail, you’ll have given it a shot. If you succeed, then you succeeded with what you wanted to do.
Neil Gaiman
