David Gerrold On What To Write

Advice from the author of Star Trek’s “The Trouble With Tribbles”

I was tooling around Facebook the other day, as one does, and was fortunate to have one of those moments when Facebook’s algorithm actually showed something of value in my newsfeed.

It was a stunningly simple but vital piece of advice from writer David Gerrold.

If you aren’t familiar with his work, you should be. David is perhaps best known as the writer for one of the most famous Star Trek episodes ever, “The Trouble With Tribbles.” He created the Sleestak creatures for the popular 70s Saturday morning kids show The Land of the Lost, and he’s the author of “The Martian Child” which was turned into a popular movie starring John Cusack.

There’s no room here to list all the amazing novels and television scripts he’s written over the years. More’s the pity. But suffice to say that he’s considered a treasure in the world of science fiction. His 2001 work Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy was one of the first books on writing I ever purchased. I was even able to get him to autograph my copy.

Quoting David

Even if you don’t know David Gerrold for his novels or scripts, you might know him as one of the most respected writers on Facebook. His short essays covering a whole range of topics from politics, family, sexuality, and pop culture are among the most widely shared on that platform.

But let’s take a look at the quote from him I’d like to highlight:

“Write what satisfies you, no matter what. Be your writer. Be the writer you want to be. Write what you want to read. Write what excites you. Write what thrills you. Write what delights you. Write what makes you angry. Write what makes you cry. Write what makes you cry. Write what makes you laugh like crazy. Do not try to be anybody else’s writer. Be the writer you want to be.”

Takeaways

As someone who writes for a living, these are words I need to hear on occasion.

For a couple of years now, I’ve been writing a lot of nonfiction. Much of it is hired content for websites and digital agencies. It sounds boring. It doesn’t sound like the work of someone who once wanted to be a science fiction author.

Here’s the thing, though.

At some point, I realized I didn’t want to be an author — at least not a fiction one. Or not full-time. I enjoy writing nonfiction. What’s more, it appears I’m pretty good at it.

Sure, I’ve sold several short stories and poems over the years, and most have them have even been reprinted a couple of times. But if I really wanted to be a full-time fiction writer or poet, I’d have published a lot more by now.

Turns out that wasn’t my passion — especially not compared to the work reflected in my output these past couple of years.

Sure, I’ve written a lot of stuff many people might consider boring — articles on estate law and cloud computing. Blogs on real estate trends and cybersecurity. But I’ve also written a number of essays about more personal subjects. Art. Parenthood. Marriage. Productivity. Life. All of those essays are being worked into a larger piece.

And that project is what I keep returning to in between the paying gigs.

I’m writing my passion. And it’s okay that it’s not what I once thought it was going to be or should be.

Instead, my passion is what it is right now.

It’s what satisfies and delights.

And according to David Gerrold, a writer I have a tremendous amount of respect for, I’m doing absolutely fine.

Write what you want to write.

And to hell with anything or anyone else.

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