Yesterday I saw Dean Wesley Smith wrote about Heinlein’s rules again. This is a fairly normal thing for him. It’s kind of his shtick, for the lack of a better term. He’s known as a proponent of fast writing, and limited editing. At least that’s the rep, you know? That’s all good. I’ve been a very fast writer in my time, too. And I’ve also been a slow one. It really just depends on the time at hand and how my life is going.
But that’s not what I want to comment on.
My response was to make another post—specifically noting that I find it interesting that when Heinlein rule dustups occur, it’s always about rule 4, which says that one should only revise when an editor requests it. But, I said, I think most writers struggle just as much with the other three: (1) you must write, (2) you must finish what you write, and (3) you must put what you write on the market.
ASIDE: YES, I KNOW I’VE GOT THEM OUT OF ORDER. I’LL LEAVE IT THIS WAY FOR NOW BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE MY MIND WAS WHEN I STARTED THIS…AND IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER IN THE END!
A writer friend of mine noted that Rule 4 was the hardest, and that writing is always the easy part. Which is great, I suppose. Though I will admit I question that. She’s a very good writer, though. And everyone gets their own life. I can only say I wish it were so for me. Or maybe I’ve got them reversed. I probably do. A quick google says that I do, anyway, and that’ its rule 3 that says you shouldn’t rewrite except to editorial request.
Regardless, the point stands.
The whole thing got me thinking about Heinlein’s rules, so I figured, why not dust off the old blog and have some fun. If I get the time, I’ll do something about them all.
But today, let me talk about Rule 1.
Rule 1: You Must Write
This is the easy one, right?
I think it’s fair to say, anyway, that for most writers I know this is the easiest of Heinlein’s Rules. Or at least it’s the rule that everyone eventually follows. Otherwise there would be no output at all. But when I read my friend’s response about the writing part being “easy,” my thoughts went to the wide array of writers I’ve spoken with over the past month or so—and I spent moments flashing on moments where literally every one of them confessed they were having difficulty with their creative energy over the recent past. Yes. Every One of Them.”
Perhaps it’s just life overall.
Perhaps it’s the harsh reality of the presidential situation.
Perhaps it’s my age and my cohorts’ ages (though they are not all that aged).
I don’t know what it is.
But a lot of writers I know right now are having difficulty getting to the keyboard in a serious fashion. DWS himself is, for example, running a “writer’s block” class that he says is being very well attended. So, though I can’t speak specifically for them, I can say that whatever the cause issues doing the actual writing seem to be plaguing the crowd I run with.
I can say for certain, though, that I have had issues with getting to the keyboard this year, and that most of those issues have dealt with externalities brought on by a death in the family. Yes, it’s a life roll (as we call it). But it’s something that’s kept me from the keyboard, and external or not that gap plays with my mind so boldly that it can become a big feedback loop that eats on itself. Sure, my intellect will tell me, everything is going to be fine once you get going again. But the emotional aspect of being a writer is always leery of the intellect. That emotional side (that can’t tell where creative energy comes from) is always able to worry about itself.
That aspect of the “job” is the reason I’ve taken to saying that so much of being a creative is about keeping yourself in the right emotional state to do the work.
So, will I come back to the keyboard?
Of course I will. I’m in the process of it right now. I feel it coming back, too.
I’m not writing every single day, but I’m writing a lot. Or at least a fair amount.
But it’s hard sometimes. When you’re in a downward cycle, it takes a certain sense of audacity to think that what I’m writing will ever make a difference again. It can take mind hacks. It can take discipline.
And it can take a reminder now and again that this first law is not really a mandate so much as it is a definition. I don’t have to be a writer, after all. Really, I don’t. I’m multi-capable, and generally employable. I can do whatever I want with my life. Most likely you are too.
So, if you don’t want to be a writer you don’t have to.
It’s all good.
I like making stuff up, though.
Really, I do.
If you’re a writer, you probably do, too. Making stuff up is hard sometimes, but it’s where the joy is. “The hard makes it fun,” Brigid, my daughter and collaborator said recently.
So, here’s a mind-hack for you when it comes to Heinlein’s first rule.
Instead of “a writer must write,” try framing it as “a writer gets to must make stuff up.”
When I look at it that way, I feel oddly better.
I don’t have to be a writer, you know? But if I decide to be one, I get to spend my time making stuff up.
How cool is that?
Pingback: Heinlein’s Rules – #2 – Typosphere
Pingback: Heinlein’s Rules – #3 – Typosphere