The Devastating Problem with Too Many Mentors

When I first started writing, I was obsessed with reading craft books.   

Save the Cat by Blake Snyder? Read it.  

Story by Robert McKee? Already Finished.   

Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell? Do you even need to ask? Read it within a week.   

These, plus dozens of others, sit on my bookshelf with annotations, page marks, and notes scribbled in the margins.  

In my head, the more I read about writing, the better my stories would be. But do you want to know what happened?  

I was too paralyzed to write a word. Why?

Because all the information I learned from these different mentors conflicted with each other.   

When one teacher said to write one way, the other refuted it with their own personal claim. At a certain point, my brain became overwhelmed with all the ways I could write a story that I wasn’t sure which was the right way.  

The issue with this problem is that there is no right way to write a story.   

Everyone has a way that works for them, but it takes time to figure out what that is. So, what do you do?  

Well, the first thing you do is stop juggling so many mentors.  

There’s a reason why some of the greatest artists became apprentices to one artist rather than ten: they could get their teachings from a singular source.  

When you try to learn from everyone, you give yourself too many opinions that overwhelm you. The better solution is to pick one mentor to follow until you’ve mastered their teachings, then decide if you want to change.  

I originally heard of the “too many mentors” concept from Father Bronques, who runs one of my favorite podcasts called “Make Art, Not Content”  

Father Bronques is a true creative who believes deeply in artists finding their authentic voice and message. He's direct and unafraid to tell you how it is, which is why I enjoy his podcast.  

When I first listened to this episode (it’s called “Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen of Your Mind” by the way), it felt like he was speaking directly to me.   

At that point, I was stuck in limbo with my writing because I didn’t know which teacher to follow. However, after realizing that I needed to treat my creative practice more like an apprenticeship, my next move became clear.   

I would choose one teacher to follow until I’ve mastered their concepts, and then once achieved, I would decide if I'd like to explore a new way.  

What’s important at this stage is that you get results from whatever method you choose. However, if you’re constantly starting and stopping new methods, you’ll never know which works best for you.  

Stop saturating your writing practice with too many mentors and focus on one teacher that resonates.   

If you do this, you’ll find yourself freed from the paralysis of inaction and start creating some of your best work yet.   

So, find a teacher you like, dive into their teachings, master their concepts, and learn how to focus on quality, not quantity, before you add another mentor to the mix.