QuoteProject
If you just write the kinds of stories you think others will want to read, you'll be competing with cartoonists who are far more enthusiastic for that kind of comic than you are, and they'll kick your ass every time.
Scott Mccloud
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Write authentically rather than trying to predict what others want.

In this quote, Scott McCloud emphasizes the importance of writing authentically and passionately rather than attempting to cater to perceived audience expectations. By doing so, a writer not only finds a unique voice, but also stands a better chance against competitors who are more enthusiastic about the genre or style being emulated, thus encouraging creativity and individuality in storytelling.

Themes

WritingAuthenticityCreativityStoriesCompetition

In practice

Example use cases

In a writing workshop to inspire participants to write true to themselves.

More from Scott Mccloud

Today, comics is one of the very few forms of mass communication in which individual voices still have a chance to be heard.
Scott MccloudRead
Nobody knows what will work until they try it. Some of comics' biggest success stories in recent years have explored subjects that no one was writing about at the time - stories no one had any reason to think would succeed. My advice? Write what you want to read. You'll have more fun doing it - and if all else fails, you'll always have at least one loyal reader.
Scott MccloudRead
The ancestors of printed comics drew, painted and carved their time-paths from beginning to end, without interruption, ... the infinite canvas.
Scott MccloudRead

Similar quotes

Write because you love it and not because it is something that you think you should do. Always write about something or somebody you know about - something that you feel deeply and passionately about. Never try and force it.
Michael MorpurgoRead
There are elements of me in the roles I've played in the past. But people forget that Mary Poppins was just a role, too.
Julie AndrewsRead
A few can touch the magic string, and noisy fame is proud to win them: Alas for those that never sing, but die with all their music in them!
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.Read
I see myself as a perennial expatriate because, frankly, I don't think I fit comfortably in any conventional form of filmmaking, and I feel at the same time, depending on the project, I fit into many different ones.
Guillermo Del ToroRead
Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.
Ben OkriRead
Fashion is the science of appearance, and it inspires one with the desire to seem rather than to be.
Henry FieldingRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.