You want to know how to become a world-renowned expert? It's easy, really. All you have to do is:
1. Look around until you find something that interests you.
2. Think about it a lot.
3. Make some interesting observations.
4. Have a few new ideas and form a couple of theories.
5. Put your ideas and theories to the test, then
6. Begin sharing what you've learned.
7. Continue to repeat steps 2 through 6 and soon you'll be recognized as an expert. Crowds will come from far and wide to hear what you have to say. You'll be asked to speak at conferences. People will give you money. Yes, it really is that easy.
The problem is that most of us fear we're not qualified to observe and think for ourselves and then theorize, test, and expound on what we've learned. We think it requires special credentials or something. Or we're afraid that someone will ask, “Who do you think you are?” So we quote countless others instead of ourselves. But following a path worn smooth by others will never set you apart from the crowd. No matter how well you sing a song made famous by another, you'll always be considered a lounge act, a cover artist, a karaoke queen. To become a superstar you've got to sing what's never been sung.
My son Rex and I traveled to Hollywood recently to watch our friend David Freeman mesmerize an auditorium full of big shots at the Los Angeles Film School. It all began a few years ago when David decided to study the screenplays of all the most successful films ever made. After purchasing hundreds of manuscripts, he carefully noted and categorized each new technique he encountered until there were no more to be found. He then codified his observations to make them teachable and began teaching them to whomever would listen. Within a very few years, David had become the top screenwriting coach in the world. His methods for creating interesting characters and plots have been enthusiastically embraced throughout the television and film industry and now the video-game companies are asking for his help as well.
Do you want to read a book that will blow your mind? David gave it to me when I went to see him in Hollywood and I read it on the plane on the way home. If you've ever read a comic strip, Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud will absolutely rock your world. Interestingly, Scott became the world's foremost authority on sequential graphic storytelling in exactly the same way that David became the authority on screenwriting.
Are you ready to become famous? If so, visit WizardAcademyPress.com and I'll tell you what I'm going to do to help.
Roy H. Williams