One of my most useful writing tips came from an unlikely
source in an unlikely place. The place was a mega-Star Trek convention in Las
Vegas; the source was William Shatner, known best for his role as Captain Kirk
in the short-run but long-lived Star
Trek, the 1966 to 1969 original series.
To be fair, Bill Shatner has written a multitude of books of his own. Goodreads lists 95 with
61784 ratings at an average of 3.78. He has several sci-fi & sci-fi series
(yes, he brought Captain Kirk back to life after his untimely movie death in Star Trek Generations) as well as non-fiction.
His most recent are Leonard, memoir about
his long-term friendship with Leonard Nimoy, and Spirit of the Horse: A Celebration in Fact and Fable, a subject Mr.
Shatner knows and loves. And we mustn’t forget his 1999 classic, Get a Life! where he mocks the Trekkies
for not having anything better to do than play Star Trek. (A stance he recently
rescinded after setting out on a mission to discern the true meaning of Star
Trek and its hold over a legion of devotees. “Though Star Trek’s fandom may be rooted in science-fiction,” he
writes, “it revolves, and thrives, around
friendship, belonging, love, hope, and understanding.”)
Shatner is no slacker, in fact he’s one of the most
driven people I know. He dives into his projects with passion and enthusiasm.
He pushes himself to deliver the best he can create. He seeks and learns with
every accomplishment. So with 95 books under his belt, (even if a number of
those have been co-written) he has to have gained some perspective on the
craft. At the convention, on stage with 15,000 Trekkies watching, he proved it.
The format for the con’s guest stars usually begins with
a few minutes of talk and then questions from the audience. Most of the
questions for Mr. Shatner have to so with Star Trek and his famous role as
Captain Kirk. “What was your favorite
episode?” “ Tell us some of the behind-the-scenes anecdotes.” “Why aren’t you in the new movies?” But
one young man asked another sort of question:
Shatner didn’t hesitate. “When you get writer’s block,” he said, “it’s because you’ve gone wrong somewhere in the story. Go back to the last place that your story worked and start from there.”
Simple. Elegant. True.
People ask me why I go to Star Trek conventions? I can
honestly say that, among other things, it’s to get writing advice from William
Shatner.
Next time: A revelation from another Star Trek writer alum,
David Gerrold.
Check out more blogs by Mollie Hunt
at:
"Go back to the last place that your story worked and start from there.”
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! I just put that theory to the test, and guess what? It worked perfectly! Such an easy solution! I can't thank you enough for this post!
William Shatner has been, and always will be, one of my favorite people. He has such a sharp wit, a heart full of compassion, and the intellect to be a philosopher for the regular "Joe" and "Jane" in the world. Thank you for sharing this anecdote about writer's block. It makes perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteMollie, I really enjoyed this post! I remember when Star Trek was on the FIRST time! Back in the 60's. LOL I was about 10 or 11, and thought it was the very best show I'd ever seen. Even now, I have all the DVDs and will never pass it up if I'm watching tv and happen to find an episode playing. The spin offs were never NEARLY as good as the original! I had no idea Bill Shatner had written 95 books. That's amazing!
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