Leveling Up
Most creatives I know share a need to surround ourselves with new vessels of inspiration in order to keep up our motivation to make things that matter. It’s crucial to always have a sense of what’s relevant when it comes to our audiences. I mean, who wants to use something that doesn’t resonate with them on some level, right? Why bother?
That’s the challenge we face on a day-to-day basis. What makes people tick? Learning more and more about the human psyche is one of my favorite things about being a writer. More often than not, you can find me in between the pages of a new book, at a local coffee shop people watching, or browsing documentaries on Netflix. These might seem like unconventional study materials, but understanding what’s important to people and why they do the things they do requires a look at the larger spectrum of human tendency by blending fantasy (what they want) with reality (what they have).
When I was little, I spent hours watching my dad play RPGs on PlayStation. I was enamored with the story lines, characters, and design and got completely swept up in these intricate virtual worlds, many times reenacting scenes and taking on different personas with my brothers. “I’m Solid Snake and you guys be the guards” I’d yell as we built a makeshift war zone in our living room, complete with tunnels and a large cardboard constructed Metal Gear.
Something about all those Saturday afternoons helped me understand the way people work in the purest way possible—seeing the world through the eyes of someone else. I’ve read my fair share of books and watched all too many people from afar and eventually found a common theme: Most people want to succeed. We have an inherent desire, real or fictional, to exist in a way that allows us to feel like a hero. Even the villains strive to be the most evil, conniving versions of themselves when given the chance.
Like the main character in a video game, most people are on a path to personal victory. The thing is, I have yet to meet someone who is completely content with where they are now. What most of us search for in life is total inner peace and acceptance of self.
That’s what writing is all about—tapping into what makes people feel like a champion, giving them something to relate to, a piece of the map to find a way to their version of winning the game. Sometimes it’s obvious. Sometimes we have to do a little research. So whether it’s getting caught up in old episodes of One Tree Hill or figuring out which spell to cast next in Final Fantasy, it's all part of becoming a better writer. There’s a lead in there somewhere, it’s just up to us to see it.