I Am Not A Writer (And Neither Are You)

I love that Charles Barkley commercial where he tells people, “I am not a role model.”

What a freaking awesome TV spot.

It got me thinking about an announcement I wanted to make..

I am not a writer, and neither are you.

*Drops mic*

We’re Not Just Writers

A few years ago I started dabbling in the world of filmmaking on YouTube. It was so much fun and also a challenge for me as someone who’s sort of “mastered” blogging online.

(I use the word ‘mastered’ very lightly)

The reason I got into filmmaking is because I think I have natural talent for it.

I used to make movies ALL the time in high school.

In fact, I even won student of the month as a freshman for a movie I made in English class. It was awesome. Should I release it one day? Maybe I will.

The last few weeks I’ve tried to figure out whether I’m a Youtuber or a blogger. Like, what should I call myself?

Then it sort of hit me like a ton of bricks…

I’m not a writer..

I’m not a Youtuber..

I’m a storyteller.

You are, too.

All writers are storytellers first. All filmmakers are storytellers first. Same with painters and musicians and everyone else who gets down with this creative lifestyle.

I Hope This Gives You The Confidence To Explore Other Art Forms

Here’s the punchline (this article is short — keep reading).

I used to think that I had to be amazing at cinematography, editing, and effects to make great YouTube videos.

But back then one of my videos that didn’t take me that long to make ended up resonating really well with my audience. It was this one:

A lot of people said it was their favorite video.

So what did I do differently in this video? How could a project I worked on for a fraction of the time end up doing so well?

Easy — I had a great story to begin with.

I approached a topic that was difficult to talk about.

I put my soul on display.

All my other projects were vlogs that had little to no direction/story.

This particular video was one that I scripted and storyboarded and strategized from the beginning.

It had a story , it had a heart — that’s why it did so well.

So let me ask you, what’s your favorite song? What’s your favorite book? What’s your favorite movie?

My favorite movie ever is Skyfall (I know it’s stupid — I’ll write an article about why it is soon). Skyfall is the James Bond equivalent of lukewarm pudding. It’s not a giant spectacle of a picture.

I mean, the penultimate scene is basically just a glorified Home Alone rip off.

But I loved this movie for the story — not the effects or the settings or the explosions.

It broke new ground for Bond in an emotional and sometimes downright depressing way, and I loved every second of it.

As Long As You Have A Good Story — You Can Do Anything

You can be a YouTuber if all you know how to do is turn on a camera and press record…

If you have a story.

You can be a blogger if all you know how to do is type on your keyboard..

If you have a story.

So I’m going to stop thinking of myself as a writer — I’m going to start thinking of myself as a storyteller first.

The rest will take care of itself.

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