Wil Wheaton the Writer

Last night I heard Wil Wheaton give a banquet speech to a roomful of poker enthusiasts at the Las Vegas Club in downtown Vegas. It was the final night in a series of days at The Plaza that seemed a lot like summer camp for a group of players that had found each other, community, and friendship online. They call it B.A.R.G.E. I was on girlfriend duty, but knew just enough people to enjoy it plenty, and Wil’s address was the highlight of the series for me.

First, let me give you a quick and unfair sum up of Wil so that the travel writers here can get some back story. You’d probably recognize Wil’s name from his acting. He was a regular on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and also the main kid in Stand By Me. Others might recognize his name from blogging instead. His blog is incredibly popular and when I started blogging more than three years ago, his was one that I was directed to as an example of a blog. And the last thing that you should know in reference to the rest of my post, is that he’s not a professional poker player. Yet. But he’s been playing for a few years, and connected to some names in the field. (I first saw him when he was playing in the $25k Five Star Classic at the Bellagio).

OK, so that’s most of what I knew about Wil when he got up to give his speech—kinda famous guy gets up to do keynote about poker to a few hundred poker players who, for some, have been playing poker as long as Wil’s been an adult.

The first thing Wil did was to tell us that he’d sworn off speeches kinda like this. His disclaimers didn’t feel like disclaimers (because believe me, I hate disclaimers and think that they undermine the presenter), but rather, he brought himself to our level. He let us know that he wasn’t going to teach us anything about poker, he was going to entertain us. And then he did. Oh boy did he.

Wil related a story of his first time in an illegal poker den. It’s called “Lying in Odessa.”

First, you know by the premise alone, this story is right up my alley. Given. But what really moved me last night, was how well written it was, and just as importantly, how seamlessly Wil delivered it. I was gripped, the audience was gripped, and we laughed and laughed and laughed.

As a presenter I was impressed by his rhythm. Everything flowed. His timing was impeccable, and trust me, that’s hard to do when folks are laughing. Seriously, I run into this at my events. You’re trying to tell your story, there are certain pauses that you take for the build up of the story, but then your audience starts cracking up, and you need to work that in to the timing of delivering the rest. Will, mastered this.

Now, lets get back to the writing. It was well written. Build up, delivery. Build up, delivery. And of course the first thing I thought was, what else does Wil write? A n d….does he, or could he, be talked into writing a little bit of travel…

So, this morning I went to WilWheaton.net. And guess what? The very top post was about his writing life. It was about balance. Wil let us into his head for a bit so we could see his temporary struggle with the creative process as it is entwined with his need for personal balance, and then how he got through it.

Excellent, Wil. Just the stuff we like to empathize and learn from over here on Written Road. Balance is so key to being creative. And when we get stuck, we do have to ask ourselves, what’s missing? Why is this so hard right now? Wil is an actor, so he needs a bit of the acting. I’m an eater, I need lunch. No, seriously, for me to be well and productive I need the social balance. I thrive on being around people. And if I bury myself for too long, things will turn sour if don’t even it out with some human interaction. My guess is that everyone has their fix. Some are dependent on exercise. Others need solitude. Still others need their special writing environment, beit their office, their pink bathrobe, or a particular pen that seems to work magic. If you separate the writer from their “thing,” the creative process can get rocky until balance is returned. Wil got his spoonful of acting remedy, and I found another messenger to inspire me.

Know what works for you, and return to it again and again while you write—whether it’s a book, a screenplay, or a poem. Do what you can to make this journey easier on yourself. You know what I mean. Now, I’m off to go buy Wil’s book, Just a Geek. New fan #1,062,378.