I’ve heard a lot of people push the philosophy of only writing when they feel like it—when inspiration hits them. Hey, if you can use that method to produce quality material as often and as reliably as you want, then great. But I favor the opposite approach: I like to apply myself on a mind-numbingly regular basis, striving to leave my heart in the writing each time.
I like to apply myself until it feels unnatural not to.
Demonstrating that you can safely navigate the most powerful addictions/aversions means demonstrating DISCIPLINE.
In simpler words: Big boy rules are earned by big boy conduct.
Society will make pressing arguments: Settle. Conform. Avoid risk like it’s the plague. But if you’re a writer (or any kind of artist), the arguments you make will be AGAINST inertia. Your cover, your opening line…everything up to the last character on the last page will be an invitation to dream, to cheer, and to travel into strange lands.
IMHO, an artist must, on a regular basis, push themselves through their Work. And I hope that by ditching MY inertia, I’m inviting others to ditch theirs—in the dreams of their creations, and in life as well.
I was never really drawn to writing…I wouldn’t classify myself a “writer” so much as an articulate over-thinker/problem-solver that has no outlet except writing with which to express his thoughts.
Life is not kind to those who cling to unnecessary ritual/doctrine…I believe that the oversimplification/rigidization of knowledge may in fact be an act that is antithetical to existence itself. Because I can’t help but feel we are inundated with clues telling us to strive for what’s EFFECTIVE, and not what’s comfortable.
(As I understand it, a significant tactic employed by Buddha was to eschew “the proper way,” and reach his audience by using the most effective method possible.)
If you don’t have it, then discipline is everything. Without discipline, you can’t trust yourself to enjoy things/activities, because they might become cravings.
But WITH discipline…you’re free to enjoy all of life without fear, with absolute trust.
The fascinating thing about writing is that it becomes a measure of how cleanly you can reflect humanity back on itself. The author’s job is not to adhere to some staid routine or concept of “what’s right,” or “proper,” but to lift the spirit, light up the soul, and reiterate old archetypes and tropes so that they enter humanity’s collective heart and replenish it with fresh novelty.
In the end, it is about digging deeper within yourself than what society might expect, and distributing those rough treasures that you’ve polished with nothing but your mind.
IMHO, the writer’s directive is to push as close to transcendence as he/she possibly can through focused obsession or honed awareness (for practicality and health reasons, I prefer awareness to obsession), and litter his/her work with clues as to what he/she has discovered.
Art is given value through the artist’s commitment—the commitment to finishing and polishing a piece so that it’s fit for public consumption.
Good ideas and premises are infinitely prevalent. They’re given value by understanding that they’re iterated with the audience in mind, and not as self-serving reflections of the artist’s “genius.”
Quality is assured through meticulous editing, while workable material is assured through constant drafting. So it naturally follows that if I want to publish quality material on a regular basis, I must be constant in drafting, and ruthless in editing.
But above all, I must always, ALWAYS be drafting. Otherwise, there is nothing to edit.
Dirty Sci-Fi Buddha 