Review: Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer: The Artistry, Joy, and Career of Storytelling

Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer: The Artistry, Joy, and Career of Storytelling by J. Michael Straczynski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the worst things about advice is that it's not always practical. This seems to be especially true the more subjective the opinion on a subject is. Example: you're about to leave the house and you check the forecast. It tells you it's raining outside. You look out the window and, sure enough, water is indeed falling from the sky. Here's the thing. Being told it's raining outside isn't the practical advice. It's only the information used to establish said advice. The practical advice would be to grab an umbrella or a raincoat. That seems a little obvious given the subject, but I'm merely using it as a framework for something more complex.

Not only is most advice about art (writing in this case) is subjective. It's also rarely practical. I once had a potential agent say my cover letter needed to be more vibrant. The thing is, that doesn't actually mean anything. She was telling me it was raining outside without any regard to using an umbrella. I tend to see this a little too often. Either the person giving advice doesn't know what they're talking about, or they're attempting to sandblast writing so it all sounds the same.

Is Straczynski, and his new book on writing, guilty of this? No. But I'm laying this out to explain how I approach writing advice. I don't just use a grain of salt, I unscrew the top and use the whole fucking shaker.

Before I render my judgment on if the book is any good, I also need to layout who this book is for. Unlike most works, this is more of a textbook. You might be faced with the greatest book on algebra ever written, but if you don't have a class or a job involving algebra, it's pretty much useless to you. Breaking down the audience into two groups.

The first group is fans of JMS's work who wish insight into his writing process. It carries many personal stories of his career and his perspective into the industry he's worked in for decades. The level of sharpness of this aspect really did catch my eye and I think anyone who loves his work will get something worthwhile here. So, if you're reading this review wearing a Babylon 5 T-shirt, go ahead and read this book.

The second group needs a little more justification. And that's people who are looking to becoming paid writers. I said 'paid' because you're either already a writer or you're not. Also, as a disclaimer, if you're the type who uses the label of a writer and haven't actually written anything down, this book isn't for you. In particular, there's a section of the book that calls out posers. So save yourself the heartache and avoid this book. And me.

To the point made at the beginning, this book does offer up some helpful advice. If you're looking to crack into the business and/or looking to improve your craft, you should be able to find something here that applies to you. One piece of advice though: grab a highlighter. You're going to want to mark the relevant bits.

See, that's how practical advice works.

Since I can't resist saying something negative, I'll put it down here towards the end. There are a few sections in the book that are less helpful than others. There's an entire chapter towards not shoving your ideas in writers' faces. Good advice, but the chapter could have been a lot shorter and seemed a little too personal. I know many artists face this problem. There's even a Chappelle Show skit about that very problem. So, while I understand the frustration, I doubt most of those people are going to be reading this book. Or read period.

Regardless if you're in groups A or B (or maybe both, who knows?), I'd recommend this book. The use of real world examples can get a little straining, but JMS needs to establish himself so you don't think he's talking out of his ass. Trust me. He's mostly not.

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