by Chris Colfer
3
COMPLETE SATISFACTION IS A MYTH
While it’s important to be proud of your work, I’ve never met a writer who has experienced complete, over-the-moon satisfaction with something they’ve written. We’ll always look at our own work and want to fix things here and there. That’s the beauty and frustration of writing—it’s never truly finished!
Give yourself enough time to properly edit it, but don’t torture yourself over every other word. A good stopping place is when you’re no longer improving something and just changing it. Remember, just because something is different doesn’t make it better.
4
GIVE YOURSELF A DEADLINE
A deadline is a great motivator, but it doesn’t have to come from an editor or a publisher. If you need an extra boost to get something done, make a deadline with a friend or family member you can trust with your writing. Not only will this help you finish your work, it’ll also get you used to having your work read by other people.
5
DON’T BE INTIMIDATED
Unfortunately, the world is full of people who criticize for sport. It’s easier said than done, but you cannot let anyone intimidate you to the point of giving up. There will always be people who are smarter and better writers than you—but what if your story is better than theirs? While experience and education help you become a better storyteller, it doesn’t always help with creativity. Sometimes being a good writer has nothing to do with style or skill, but depends solely on your imagination. Remember, if you have a story in your heart, then you have the right to write it.
6
IMMERSE, IMMERSE, IMMERSE
When you’re writing, it’s easy to become a total recluse and lock yourself away from sunlight and all civilization. (There was a period when I didn’t leave my house for three weeks!) As easy as it is to disappear, to stay creative it’s crucial to get fresh air and immerse yourself in anything you possibly can. Read as many books as you can, watch as many new movies and television shows as you can handle, go to museums and look at artwork, take hikes and walks through areas you’ve never been before, listen to music you normally wouldn’t listen to. The more you stimulate your creativity muscles, the better your writing will become.
7
HOW TO DEAL WITH WRITER’S BLOCK
Writer’s block is a vicious and taxing cycle. The more you suffer from it, the stronger it becomes. That’s why my best advice for writer’s block is to get up and do something else the moment you feel it coming on. Do a puzzle, walk your dog, ride your bike—whatever you can do to take your mind off it. Give your imagination a chance to rejuvenate itself before attempting to pick up the pen again. It’s always when I force myself to relax that an idea will hit me and reinvigorate my patience and creativity. It’s kind of rude now that I think about it.
8
WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW
Every writer has had their fair share of unique experiences and encounters—try incorporating as much of yourself into your writing as possible. Even though the Land of Stories is about people and creatures in a magical dimension, each character and situation is based on someone or something I know very well. Writing from a place of familiarity adds a wonderful element of truth to your work and makes the process much more fun.
9
SUBSTANCE OVER STYLE
In the beginning, too many writers make the mistake of valuing how they’re writing over what they’re writing. As much as we all want to write as suspensefully as Stephen King or as lyrically as William Shakespeare, I believe it’s better to develop your own style over time than to start off by copying another author’s style. Even if it’s flawed at first, originality will capture someone’s attention more than a bad impression.
10
DON’T FORGET TO ENJOY IT
By the time you gain the concentration needed to start something, tell the story in the style you want, meet a crushing deadline, and build up the courage to share your work with someone else—you may be so emotionally and physically exhausted, you’ve forgotten why you enjoy writing at all. Upon completion, it’s important to take a step back and be proud of yourself. Even if your hard work doesn’t amount to anything, you’ve still accomplished what most people have only dreamed of.
A quote from the Fairy Godmother always reminds me of why I love writing so much: “Creativity is the simple but powerful ability to make something from nothing, and it just so happens that making something from nothing is also the definition of magic.”
CONCLUSION
I wish I could go back in time and tell my eight-year-old self about everything the Land of Stories has become. Without a doubt, I would find him staying up late on a Saturday night, eating a box of chocolate doughnuts, and struggling to write about the Bailey twins with his limited vocabulary. His chubby cheeks would probably explode if he heard he was a future #1 internationally bestselling author and that his Land of Stories would expand to over a dozen books. Granted, he would be upset that it took twenty years to happen, but patience has never been my strong suit.
I remember the day the Land of Stories first came to me like it was yesterday. I was about six years old and had been in the hospital for three weeks due to complications after an operation. These were the dark ages before iPads, so my mom brought me a stack of books from home to keep me entertained. Among them was an old treasury of fairy tales she used to read to me every night before bed. As I flipped through the pages, I remember desperately hoping the book would to come to life and pull me into the fairy-tale world so I could escape my hospital bed. I visualized all the places I wanted to see, all the characters I wanted to meet, and all the adventures I wanted to have with them. Remarkably, 90 percent of The Wishing Spell’s plot was invented while I was waiting to be released from the hospital.
Having my own world to escape into came in handy a few years later. My younger sister was diagnosed with a very rare and serious form of epilepsy. It was an incredibly difficult and scary time for my family. We flew all over the country to meet with doctors and specialists, only to return empty-handed after every appointment. My parents had to work overtime to pay for medical bills and I was left to myself a lot, but luckily I had the Land of Stories to keep me occupied. The more I daydreamed about it, the clearer it became, and soon my little mental vacations turned into an obsession.
Every day after school, I would race home and use my mom’s computer to type out whatever I had dreamed up that day (while I should have been paying attention in class). Once I finished a two-to three-page “chapter,” I’d ride my bike to my grandmother’s house and have her edit it for me. If my grandmother liked a chapter, she would keep it in a pile with the others, but if she thought I could do better, she would crumple it up and send me back home to rewrite it.
“Grandma, I’m never going to be a good writer!” I moaned on one occasion. “It’s just too hard.”
“Christopher, wait until you’re done with elementary school before you worry about being a failed writer,” she replied.
Looking back, I now understand just how lucky I was to have someone like my grandmother in my corner. By believing in me, she taught me to believe in myself and gave me all the tools I needed to make it happen. Even though she knew my writing needed a lot of work, and even though she knew the publishing world was very difficult to break into, it never stopped her from encouraging me and lifting me up when I needed a helping hand.
So if there are any kiddos out there reading this who have their own universe stuck in their head but no one to champion it, please allow me to be that champion for you. Don’t ever think you don’t have what it takes to make your literary dreams a reality. Now more than ever, we need stories from people of all different types and backgrounds and from all corners of the world to inspire, encourage, and shape a better future. So please, put aside your pessimism and pick up a pen—you might have exactly what the world needs! Even if you don’t believe it at first, always remember that sometimes the universe has
bigger plans for us than we have for ourselves.
While the future holds many exciting possibilities for the Land of Stories universe—prequels and sequels and films, oh my!—I’ve learned that we should never take the present for granted. So, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank every one of my readers for going on these adventures with me. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to tell you stories about the big, crazy, and magical world that’s existed inside of me for as long as I can remember. No matter what happens in the days to come, I hope the Land of Stories will continue to be as wonderful an escape for you as it has been for me.
Until the next adventure,
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to thank everyone on my amazing team, especially Rob Weisbach, Derek Kroeger, Alla Plotkin, Rachel Karten, Heather Manzutto, Marcus Colen, ICM, and ID-PR.
The wonderful people at Little, Brown, including Alvina Ling, Megan Tingley, Nikki Garcia, Jessica Shoffel, Carol Scatorchio, Jackie Engel, Kristin Delaney, Svetlana Keselman, Emilie Polster, Janelle DeLuise, Bethany Strout, Jen Graham, Sasha Illingworth, and Virginia Lawther.
Jerry Maybrook for producing all the audiobooks in the Land of Stories series.
The insanely talented Brandon Dorman for bringing my imaginary best friends to life.
My friends and family for loving me—quirks and all!
And most importantly, all the incredible Book Huggers from around the world. Thanks for making this guide possible!
