Comment by broscillator | Hacker News Reader

Comment by broscillator | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

It seems like you've either not read the rules, or don't understand their purpose.

On the one hand you're not wrong, but this observation applies to most of life, not just art. As much as people like to think they're rational beings because of the media they consume or the knowledge they've acquired, a lot of life just happens and you justify your decisions with a reasonable sounding narrative.

But within that framework, you're really misunderstanding the purpose and value of these rules. It's not a map to get you to a specific destination like "writing the greatest novel", it's instructions to make sure that you don't run out of gas, take enough water with you and rest enough to make sure you don't crash the car on your way to wherever you're going.

Whether your novel is great, whether it resonates with people, whether you'll die and only after that people will recognize the value of your work, that comes from the sky. But to get your ass to sit on the chair and bang those keys, that does not come from the sky, anyone who has actually tried will tell you that.

The rules are given in the context of writing. I read it, most of it is generic. It’s almost as if the person knows there’s no real rules to the game, and humble enough to just give basic life advice.

But I’ll concede, I don’t understand the purpose of offering general life rules under the guise of writing well. I really don’t. Is it an exercise in authority, or flexing a mandate, or what exactly is it? It sure as hell ain’t any real insight into writing.

But to get your ass to sit on the chair and bang those keys, that does not come from the sky, anyone who has actually tried will tell you that.

Writers block, right? Or, when the sky stops talking to you. Now that’s a phenomenon that’s worth describing.

But alas, pace yourself, got it. I’ll try not finish the entire burger, and save the rest for later. Shocked they didn’t mention a small walk, or coffee with an old friend.

What’s up my ass today I guess.

I think there are pretty valuable things in the generics in there too, like:

Start before you feel ready. Stop before you feel done.

This is a surprising antidote for a lot of behaviours I struggle with (that come from a mix of definite OCD and likely ADHD. It's absolutely a tool for rejecting waiting for inspiration and focussing instead on control of inner drive.

I personally don't believe a lot of remarkable art came out of any real healthy routines. I think these people were nutty when they made a lot of the stuff. I don't think they had a good sleep schedule or diet, I don't think they controlled their impulses or anything in the realm of don't obsess, don't overthink, don't neglect, and I don't think there was any eat right, sleep right, think right ... at all.

I think they were fucking nuts when the sky hit them.

The advice they give you is for the life they managed afterwards, which you can get from any reasonable person on earth.

But hey, I never wrote anything worth a shit. So, I have no credibility.

I grew up in a family of artists, and while I don't universally agree with your take about nutty artist sky conduits, it rings true in my microcosm. The people I'm familiar with seem driven to create, sleep be damned.

Have you tried to write every day and complete a story?

What is it? It's good rules to write consistently. This is one of the ways to beat writer's block, and there's myriads of other rules and advice for that too, it's not that mystical a phenomena.

These rules are fairly specific to writing and fairly valuable. In fact there's some common ground with Henry Miller's commandments: https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/02/22/henry-miller-on-wr...

I don't believe in writer's block. Yes, there are days when you don't want to write, or you can't think of what to write. Still, if your job is to write, you sit down and write. Maybe you write crap. Maybe you can find a nugget in that later. Steven King (not a writer I like very much) writes every day. It's said that George Lucas (who hates writing) locked himself in an office with legal pads and a pencil for eight hours a day, every day for months, until he finished the first draft of A New Hope.

You're right, there really are no rules, except for the one that says WRITE. Everyone's process is different. There are many techniques, many suggestions, many methods. But none of them work unless you write.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com