PokémonGo and Writing: An Encouraging Comparison

To those of you who think PokémonGo is a joke. You are entitled to your opinion but for many it brings joy and fun to a bleak world right now. It’s a rally against the things tearing us apart by bringing people together at parks, churches, and street sides. So to my special group of peeps who play PokemonGo and put in the time writing here’s to you.

Catch ’em: While our literal world may not have the Pokémon to catch we do have our books. Books to catch, books to read, and books to write. You gotta get ’em all and the more you have the cooler you are. So keep collecting books of all shapes, sizes, and colors each one is a step in leveling up in real life as you read.

You may loose out on catching a few Pokémon but does that stop you from walking on looking for the next rustle of grass? No, and it shouldn’t in your writing either. Keep moving on and find that next rustle of interest.

Train Hard: We are all in training from the elite four (King, Rowling, Patterson, Sparks) down to the youngsters catching there first drafts. Always be learning, growing, advancing in your writing life. Even the tiniest sliver of experience is progress. If you want to be the best you have to put in the time to get the XP.

Level Up: In life we don’t have the fancy stats bar to track our progress but be certain your bar is moving up each time you read, write, and collaborate.

Evolution happens to books as you write. First you have the crummy first draft evolution. The sparkle of having obtained it has worn off when you realize how much work it’ll take to get it ready for battle but you are on the road. You know what your book could be someday. Revise your book till it causes a quake of excitement when other’s read it. If you’ve written a Magikarp evolve it into a Gyarados and watch others drool.

Battle Time: When you are ready send it out into query battle to take the agent gym. If it comes back beat up and broken. Revive it and keep going. Battle on every day. No matter how little people get your story or understand your passion. Keep moving because you love to play with words not because you have the world’s permission. Battle past the rejection letters and beta reader doubts. You know what your book can be so battle on till you get it there.