Prolific comic book writer Watchmen has inspired many storytellers, making his recommendation surprising as he said that young creatives shouldn’t simply read good books, but also “terrible books.”
Known for his many critically acclaimed stories including Watchmen, legacy of stories such as Watchmen is largely found in young up-and-coming creatives who had their ideas of what is possible in comics impacted by Moore’s writing.
During a storytelling course for BBC Maestro, Alan Moore spoke on advice for such storytellers, suggesting that aspiring writers should “read terrible books.” While popular advice for creatives has always recommended that they should read often, Moore’s commentary offers some distinction. In the interview, the famous author elaborated, saying:
As a prospective writer, I would urge you to not only read good books - read terrible books as well, because they can be more inspiring than the good books. If you're inspired by a good book, there's always the danger of plagiarism, of doing something that is too much like that good book, whereas a genuinely helpful reaction to a piece of work you're reading is, ‘Jesus Christ, I could write this.' That is immensely liberating, to find someone who is published who is doing much, much worse than you, and analyzing why they are doing so badly.
Moore’s thoughtful advice resonates as sincere, characteristically going against the grain of what young writers hoping to break into the industry might expect. Throughout his career, he has vocalized his disapproval of adaptations and continuations of past work by new creative teams. His advice seems to speak to his lack of for any projects based on his writing, as he promotes original thought and stands against any creators making a career for themselves by relying on the previous work of others. The Watchmen writer went onto explain his advice, saying:
This will immensely help your own style. You will find out all of the mistakes not to make. ‘Why did this story offend me so much?’ Yeah, analyze that! Find out the reasons you didn’t like it. Find all the examples of clumsiness or bad thinking that spoiled the story for you. That will probably be a lot more helpful to your career as a writer.
Through this process of introspection and critical thinking, aspiring writers can determine why a story fails to hit the mark. Although art is subjective, Moore’s point remains true, as young writers should be determined to understand themselves, their style, and their taste. By assessing what they have to contribute to the world, refining their voice, and realizing the stories they prefer to read, aspiring creators can follow Alan Moore’s example.
