Reflection
5 Lessons I Learned from Frodo Baggins by Writing 55 Stories in April 2021
You can steal my learning lessons
I have been writing a lot this month. I do this because I needed to accelerate my learning journey as an aspiring writer-to-be. There are days where I absolutely hate the letters a, e, i, o, u, r, s, t, l, and n on my keyboard. There are also days where I am pumped as f**k, typing and jacking off simultaneously.
Let me be clear. There are days where I just want to rot away at the sofa.
I ask myself if I want to goof off each time my butt hits the sofa. I love asking myself questions because it reignites my assassin mode.
No assassins thrive without doing anything.
Asking myself questions allows me to reflect, appreciate what life has bestowed on me, how I can move forward, no matter how painful it is.
Think Like Frodo Baggins — There Are Enemies Everywhere
Non-professional athletes have a high pain absorption threshold. They have to because their friends at the top are going to eat them for breakfast.
Frodo Baggins thinks like a professional athlete too.
We do not get to the Promised Land. We earn our way there. Remember Lord of the Rings? Frodo Baggins has to kill himself in 3 movies of 3 hours each to attain eternal life.
I relate my writer’s journey to this silly Hobbit.
It is okay to bite off more than we can chew.
Keep going.
Do not Take Friends for Granted — Learn when They Teach
Think about Frodo Baggins, the Hobbit.
He was tasked by destiny to break the will of the evil forces roaming Middle Earth. All he wanted to do was to find that secret rubbish bin to dump the rubbish he found at the Shire.
And that rubbish bin has to be at the center of Mordor.
Sigh.
I wonder what I will do if I am Frodo.
I might just pass the ring to Sam and head home for a beer. In fact, all great characters in brilliant stories sigh a lot (I think). This is why.
All Frodo Baggins wanted to do was to find a rubbish bin to dump his trash. All Thanos wanted to do was to snap his fingers.
Simple does not mean easy.
Fortunately for Frodo Baggins, he has friends to rely on. Gandalf the Grey (and subsequently the White) would occasionally impart on Frodo, the ways of Middle Earth, while taking a puff at the smoking corner. Aragon would throw him a dagger from time to time to teach him the ways of the Sword.
You see. We will always find friends along the way, no matter how difficult it is to find a rubbish bin to dump the wet tissue.
When they teach you a skill or two, pay attention. When editors teach us a trick or two, listen.
They are not here to diss us.
We can tell who wants to help us. Stick with our comrade-in-arms closely.
Learn from Those Who Have Done It — Read a lot (here)
Frodo Baggins learned a lot about Middle Earth from Gandalf the Grey.
If we want to become good writers here, we have to read a lot from the good writers writing here.
Personally, I enjoy reading stories written by Jessica Lynn. She overlays her work with humility. Her tone is gentle, and she shows how she got to where she is today through her stories without an element of snobbish pride.
I never sense cynicism and critique of others from her work.
She is one I would model from.
We have to choose our own models.
Frodo Baggins has to learn archery from Legolas, not Aragon if he chooses to do so.
It makes perfect sense.
We Have to Walk a lot to Construct our Maps of Success
If Frodo Baggins carries an iPhone wherever he goes, he will be pleased to see that the health application has clocked 20,000 steps per day, daily.
Imagine the smile of relief on his face every evening before he gets to sleep.
He, and the members of the Fellowship, walk a lot. There are many times when they had to walk and retrace their footsteps.
No crazy living beings on Middle Earth want to travel past Moria again, especially when they have just escaped death from there.
However, each excruciating journey builds a footpath of possibility in our minds. We know what we have to take note of if we have to get back under again.
Think of different publications as different lands in Middle Earth. They have different genres and different expectations.
It is difficult when we do not meet their expectations. However, we grow to become versatile writers when we do.
Be Versatile
We experiment with multiple emotions as we go through life.
I do not see the need to specialize in one emotion in our lifetime. As a personal preference, I do not want people or readers to remember me as a rant-writer. Or, as a writer writing about earning $X million only.
There is a lot more depth to life through emotions.
Look at Frodo Baggins. He jokes around with Sam and the other Hobbits. He gets serious when he sees Gollum and dark characters. He is relieved when Gandalf, Aragon, and Legolas come to his rescue while searching for a rubbish bin.
We have a lot to experience, and we have many stories to share. Sharing jokes does not mean we cannot write serious stories. Yes, we can.
Is it not better to become a competent writer, strong in all genres we write?
My 5 Lessons
I have to be honest. Writing 55 stories in 30 days did hurt. There are days when I absolutely did not want to touch the keyboard.
However, we find growth in pain.
These are the 5 lessons I learned from writing 55 stories this month: -
- Think Like Frodo Baggins. There Are Enemies Everywhere.
- Do not Take Friends for Granted. Learn when They Teach.
- Learn from Those Who Have Done It. Read a lot.
- We Have to Walk a lot to Construct our Maps of Success.
- Be Versatile.
These lessons are like new guiding stars hanging high on the skies above me. Guiding stars come into being when we solve life puzzles.
I wish you a journey of a lifetime and a fruitful one.
We will eventually get to the Promised Land.
We just need to trudge past all Orcs, Uruk-hai, Nazguls along our way.
And yes, one point to note. There is no need to be obsessed with our statistics on a daily basis. Frodo does not count the number of weird people he slays on his way to the rubbish bin.
His goal is to throw the rubbish.
Our goal is to become a better writer.
Aldric
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About the Author:
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure.
Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.
