Just Do What You Want To Do!

Every writing blogger, English teacher, critic, and person who knows the rudiments of how to write will give you lots of advice and rules to follow in order to write properly. Rules on what makes good writing and what makes bad writing. This blog is no different.* But through all of these rules on what is good and bad I want to stress one point.

"Just Do What You Want To Do!"

If you want to introduce the murder weapon in the last scene, put in an unhappy ending, let the bad guy get away with it, OR JST SPEL LIEK U MEEN IT!!!111!

Then "Just Do What You Want To Do!"

What' u talkin 'bout?

Let me explain and make this clear. I don't mean ignore all that stuff and stop learning and growing. What I do mean is, don't let all that hold you back. You see there are three stages to learning; apprentice, journeyman, and master. I will add a fourth to the beginning called, nube.

1. - When you first start an art (any art) you are just playing around, you are a nube. You just want to have fun and see if you love this art. Don't go learning and worrying about rules when you're not even sure you want to pursue something seriously just do whatever you want to do and have fun.

You see at this stage you suck. It's that simple, you suck. It's not a poor reflection on your character that you suck. You are in fact supposed to suck and nothing but time will make you not suck; not rules, advice, talent, or passion. So just enjoy it and have fun.

2. - Second of course comes a stage where you are struggling to learn your art. You are an apprentice. An apprentice is the exception, this is the one and only time to strictly follow rules because you're just learning. The job of an apprentice is to learn all the rules. Yes it is boring, tough it out. Of course if you are getting bored then just take a day off and do whatever you want to remember why it's fun again.

3. - Then you are a journeyman. A journeyman is an apprentice who has learned all the rules but hasn't figured out when they apply and when there is an exception. The only way to learn that, is trial and error. So, "Just Do What You Want To Do!" and when you break a rule look at the result and learn what happens.

4. - Last a master is someone who does not need the rules. For Example: He does not put Chekhov's gun in the first act because he was told to, he does it because he can feel the incredulity of the audience if it comes any later. "Just Do What You Want To Do!" you have earned it.


*The opposite of a fact is a falsehood, the opposite of a wise saying is another wise saying.

ps - This advice is not intended to mean that "Just Doing What You Want To Do" will result in a 'good' product. Just that you should try it anyway even though it will come out 'bad'.

pps - Sage advice totally opposed to all of this, detailing how you can stop fucking up, will resume in our next installment.