Why Not Try a Different Point of View?
Some good writing advice gleaned from a Todd Snider performance
Dear All,
This is the latest episode of Don’t Press That Button, a newsletter about books and music and movies and cats and baseball and whatnot. As the name would indicate, we are very cautious about buttons around here. We want to understand what the button does before we smack that thing.
But the button below simply subscribes you to this newsletter. That’s it. And it’s free! If you’re new here, and you’d like to stick around, you can safely do so by clicking on it.
Another Set of Eyes
Although I’ve taught creative writing for years, I’m usually a bit reticent about sharing writing advice on the Internet. For one thing, if you want creative writing advice, there’s quite a lot of it out there! More than that, for me, unless the advice is very concrete, it’s hard to apply at this distance — which is to say, without a manuscript between us, or without at least having had a one-on-one discussion about what you’re thinking and what I’m thinking.
I happened, however, to recently hear a live performance by the great, great songwriter Todd Snider that included some exceptionally valuable insight into how he wrote his song “Highland Street Incident,” which is based on his own incredibly scary experience of being mugged by two men outside of a bar in Nashville. Before performing the song, Snider describes trying to write about what happened from his own perspective and not getting anywhere. Then, he says this (and please pardon any small errors in my transcription):
“At one point I wondered, what they were thinking, because what I was thinking didn’t rhyme, and it was time to give up on it. And so as soon as I started thinking What happened in their night… How did these two guys come to the decision to go down and stand behind Ryan’s and get the next guy, you know?, and once I started thinking about it like that it came out quick.”
His process here is worth considering. When the song refused to come together the way Snider imagined it, he unlocked the story he wanted to tell by reversing the perspective. Now, I need to add that in Snider’s specific case, on top of rethinking the angle of his approach, he also committed a remarkable act of empathy by embodying the people who attacked him — obviously, that kind of undertaking is intensely personal, and I’m in no way suggesting that your writing requires you to make that kind of choice.
What I am suggesting is simply this: If you are stuck in your writing, you might ask yourself, “Is the right character/point of view telling this narrative?” You may find, like Todd Snider did, that there’s another way into the same story by putting on another pair of eyes.
Finally, let’s just relish the complex characterization that he gets across in short order:
I don’t even know how long I’ve been awake anymore,
but I know what we’re out of and you do, too.
[…]
We sold everything we stole and everything we had.
It’s not that bad, though, it’s not that bad.
The voice of the story is exhausted, addicted, broke, and, despite all evidence to the contrary, insisting that everything is going to be okey dokey anyway. That’s a razor-sharp portrait of desperation in one verse. This person does bad things, but the pathos we feel for them is undeniable. One verse!
I love Todd Snider’s music. He’s a national treasure. The Devil You Know is my favorite of his albums, but I couldn’t do without The Excitement Plan, Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables, or Crank It, We’re Doomed, either.
The Latest
Self Help #4 is out on September 25! That’s tomorrow! Get a physical copy or download it for your device. Jerry barely survived his first attempt at playing Darren Hart, but with Cassandra’s help he’s been studying up, and in this issue, he tries again. Be careful, Jerry!
A Cover by Marianna Ignazzi 
B Cover by Stephen Byrne Let me get ahead of the cliffhanger complaints right now: Issue 5, arriving in October, only concludes the first half of our story. I will share details about the second series of Self Help very soon. There’s also a collected edition of the first series headed to stores in early 2025, and we’ll be talking about that as well.
Recommendations
I’ve recommended checking your voter registration before, and I’ll probably do it again! Go right over here to make sure you’re ready to vote.
The USPS recently released stamps honoring the Hammer, Hank Aaron, and Dungeons & Dragons1. If you’re writing letters — an activity I recommend — those are the stamps you want to use.
The Hammer Forgot to recommend it when I read it a few months ago, but better late than never: Michael Chabon’s The Final Solution is a beautiful Sherlock Holmes novella. A perfect Sunday afternoon read.
In case you ever have a question or a comment or just want to say hi, if you reply to the email, I will see it. I’m over on Instagram, too, if you’d like to follow along there.
All Best,
Owen
Been a while since I’ve played, but my half-orc is still alive in my mind. What he lacks in smarts, he makes up for in courage. I know he’ll be there when I need him.