THE SILVER BULLET
Do you remember the stories about monsters you were told as a kid? They were remarkably terrifying (if they weren’t, then your storyteller did a crummy job), and nearly all of them had one thing in common: no matter how giant, hairy, or smelly the monster was, there was always a way to kill it. A wooden stake through the heart or fresh garlic for the vampires, a bucket of water rinsed away the most wicked witch, and of course, every werewolf had its silver bullet (though people often forget that the shot had to be fired by someone who loved the person under the thrall of the full moon for it to be effective. PLOT TWIST!)
Why is that? Why do storytellers weave into the narrative an Achilles heel for their antagonists? How did wooden stakes, buckets of water, and silver bullets get baked into the narrative pot pie of horror?
Because every problem has a solution, every dragon can indeed be killed, and it’s a lesson every good storyteller worth their salt wants to drive deep into the heart of every child… the lesson is a good one because children will indeed meet very real dragons (more on that later). But, to teach them one valuable lesson, we often put the vitamin into a savory wrapper to make the inconvenient truth more appetizing: the myth of the silver bullet.
Every monster has its version. Even the iconic Superman has his kryptonite. But if you sit around waiting for a silver bullet idea, or solution, to whatever it is that lies in front of you, whatever monster you’re fighting or dragon you’re slaying, you’ll be waiting for someone else to hand you what you need.
Now, that’s not all bad. We all need coaches, friends, and people that bring into our lives what we don’t have but need to press on.
But there’s a danger in waiting for the silver bullet that will solve all your problems and make you, or your project, a rousing success. For starters, it’s a lie. Next, you’ve stopped playing the protagonist, the hero, and now you’re the damsel (or the Dan) in distress.
A better plan: be prepared to fire a lot of regular bullets. There’s no real hack to get around pulling up your sleeves and doing the hard work that needs done.
So, stop waiting, and get to doing. Stop procrastinating and start writing. Don’t wait till tomorrow to start the new fitness plan. Start today. Don’t fix a made-up date on the calendar and say on such and such a day you will change. Whatever the obstacle or goal ahead of you is, start firing at it. And when your clip is empty, reload and fire some more. Rinse and repeat.
It’s not the talented that will inherit the earth. It’s the ones that refuse to quit. So put the silver away. It’s no good here. An old-fashioned lead bullet will do just fine.