The next day, he visited a writing class and shared some knowledge with the students, and his final appearance was an hour-long talk in which he spoke at great length on his life and work. I was lucky enough to attend all three events and came away with some interesting information to share.
 

Pekar has an everyman perspective, which sometimes baffled the academic community to which he was speaking. He puts a heavy emphasis on creating something that real people can relate to and on highlighting the weird and wonderful people that surrounds us every day.
 

Pekar chose his own life as subject matter for comics instead of inventing superheroes and plots that he found predictable. His work as a writer revolutionized the comic industry and jump-started the world of indie comics.  
 

Some of what he talked about would be very helpful to share with all you working and aspiring creatives out there. I found Pekar’s background and creative process to be completely refreshing, though we can't all recreate it because what Pekar does is so unique. We can draw from it and learn from the fact that everyone will have their own individual process.
 

Pekar didn’t go to art school, he’s not a Hollywood big shot, and the essence of his message in person (and on film) is that you could do what he does too…if you wanted to. Here are some of the main points and take-aways I got from the experience of hearing and seeing him live in person. Whatever you think of his writing or the man as a person, you can certainly appreciate his demystification of the writing process.
 

1.)    Don’t buy the hype. By “hype” I mean you don’t have to be a starving artist to be an effective one. One of the first statements Pekar made, and he made sure to hit this point in every talk was, “A big reason for me to write is that I get praise, another reason is money.” This statement usually got a laugh from the audience, but the man has a point.
 

 

Anyone who says they don’t want to make a living off of their art is probably lying. Anyone who says that they don’t want anyone to like their stuff is also probably lying. That’s not the only reason we do what we do, if all we wanted was money and praise, we’d be in a different business. But whether you’re into film, television, comics, books, or scriptwriting, I think the lesson here is that it’s okay to want success and it’s okay for that to be a goal. It doesn’t make you a sell-out, though that’s usually the first thing we say about anyone after they succeed.
 

 

2.)    Another Pekar-ism that made a big impression on me was this, “If I write it, I intend to publish it.” This was his response to a question from a student about how he decides what will make it into his comic books and what won’t.

It may seem simplistic at first, and maybe it is, of course everything we do needs revision and work. But what would happen in your life if you treated everything you attempted like it was worthwhile to someone? Would you finish things more often? Would you try to sell that script sitting on your shelf? Maybe sometimes we spend too much time thinking about and preparing for an idea we want to do instead of just sitting down and doing it already.
 

 

3.)    Pekar then went on to say that if he doesn’t like what he’s writing, he wads it up and it goes in the trash. When was the last time you were able to let something go if it wasn’t working for you? Are you willing to self-edit? Can you do so judiciously and without beating yourself up?
 

 

When I think about how simple Pekar makes it sound, I realize how much that flies in the face of how we think we should behave as aspiring writers and filmmakers. We think we have to punish ourselves for our art in order for it to be good. But what if we divorced ourselves from our egos long enough to really look at something we’re working on and be able to give it an honest assessment?
 

 

Pekar reminded me that creative work is still just work, just like anything else you attempt in life. What if we threw out all of our ennui and ego and just looked at a project like it was work, did what it took to get it done, revised it and then moved on to the next project? Wouldn’t that be refreshing?
 

 

4.)    Whenever a student asked him what the best way was to get started in the comic book industry, Pekar responded with an oldie but a goodie. “Start small and see what happens.” A lot of people who want to work in film or television or comics think that it’s such a far-off goal and a long road that they decide it’s easier not to try.
 

 

But the people who seem to “make it” are the ones who are willing to be humble and just give it a try. So what if the first script you ever write is terrible? You’re one terrible script closer to writing a good one. And with every new thing that you try, every class you take, every new medium you attempt, you’re just closer to discovering what you’re good at and what you need to work on. You could talk about what you want to do forever, but why not just go ahead and give it a try?
 

Last but not least, Harvey Pekar is a man who has a way with words. He’s clever, even when he’s not trying to be. So I thought I’d leave you with some Pekar quotes to chew on.  
 

On his job at a VA hospital as a file clerk. 
 

 “I loved my job as much as you can love a mundane job. It was beyond boring…it was great.”
 

“I was able to support three wives on my salary. Not at the same time, three consecutively.”
 

“It was like a sure thing, anybody could do it, even me.”
 

On the HBO film made about his life, “American Splendor”.
 

“If I was working for HBO, I wouldn’t touch my stuff…not that I don’t like my stuff.”
 

On his meltdown on the David Letterman Show. 
 

 “It’s never comfortable on Letterman’s show for many reasons. He wanted me to do a satire of the Cleveland working man…but I don’t want to do the same G*# D#mn thing all the time. The second thing is, it didn’t pay a lot.”
 

On selling his own comics.
 

“A lot of people thought I was crazy to do that, but I thought I’d just go down in a blaze of glory.”