Today, I read this article about Henry Miller and felt these rules apply not only to writing books but also to blogging and posting on Hive. I wanted to share them here because I hope you'll also find them helpful and useful. These are from the book Henry Miller on Writing.
- Work on one thing at a time until finished.
- Start no more new books, add no more new material to ‘Black Spring.’
- Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.
- Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!
- When you can’t create you can work.
- Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.
- Keep human! See people, go places, drink if you feel like it.
- Don’t be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only.
- Discard the Program when you feel like it—but go back to it next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude.
- Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.
[For me, this means, forget the post you want to write. Think only of the post you are writing.]
- Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.
The most important of these for me is #1, work on one thing at a time until finished. I have a tendency to get distracted or switch from task to task too often. I'm using this as a reminder to focus on one task, or blog post, at a time until finished.
Which of these do you find the most applicable to your writing?
